Cleopatra's storm did not subside in Egypt. Zahi Hawass practically responds to Netflix

Prominent Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass announced on Wednesday the release of a documentary about Cleopatra, coinciding with the release of a similar work on Netflix that sparked controversy in Egypt because of the portrayal of a dark-skinned actress as the Pharaonic queen.

The hour-and-a-half-hour documentary on its director Curtis Ryan Woodside's YouTube channel was described as telling the story of "the real Cleopatra" after Netflix's choice to assign the role of the Pharaonic queen to a black actress sparked widespread criticism in Egypt in recent weeks.

The production came in response to a Netflix film released today called "Queen Cleopatra," produced by Jayda Pinkett Smith and presented as "based on the reconstruction of (characters and events) and expert testimony."

Hawass comments in the documentary: "Was Cleopatra black? First of all, I don't have anything against black people at all, but I do state the facts." "Look at the Macedonian queens, none of them were black."

Last month, Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities published a lengthy statement in which experts stressed that Cleopatra had "light-skinned skin and Hellenistic (Greek) features." "The monuments and statues of Queen Cleopatra are the best proof," he said. The Secretary-General of the Council, Mustafa Waziri, also stressed that "the appearance of the heroine in this body is a falsification of Egyptian history."

Many internet users in Egypt considered Netflix's work a rewriting of history, while an online petition titled "Stop the documentary about Cleopatra on Netflix due to historical falsification" has collected more than 40,<> signatures.

In a country where there have been repeated calls for Netflix to be banned for content deemed offensive to Egypt or its "family values", parliamentarians have called on the authorities to ban the platform.

Cleopatra belongs to the Macedonian dynasty and is descended from General Ptolemy, who, during the division of Alexander the Great's empire, became King of Egypt who saw Hellenistic civilization flourish on the banks of the Nile.

While anecdotal accounts throughout history say that the queen, who was born in 69 BC, had a remarkable beauty, her appearance and skin color remain a source of speculation and explanation. In 2009, a BBC documentary reported that African blood was running through her veins, but without stirring controversy.