Morgan Freeman visits Egypt for an upcoming
documentary, “The Story of God”
By : Mohamed Adel…
A
few days ago, many people started claiming that they spotted the legendary
Morgan Freeman casually strolling in the streets of Cairo. The rumour kept
growing bigger and bigger, until one picture of him standing on Qasr Al-Nil
Bridge nearly broke the Internet.
Actor
Morgan Freeman visits Egypt for an upcoming documentary, “The Story of God”.
The
international superstar indeed arrived in Egypt last Sunday to film a National
Geographic documentary. The project was set to be carried out in absolute
secrecy; however, such thing is rarely ever possible in Egypt.
“The Story of God” is a documentary
discussing religion and the gods of past civilisations, while linking them to
current times. Contrary to the circulating rumours, Freeman will not be acting
in the movie, and most certainly will not be discussing any anti-religious
ideas.
“He is in Egypt to visit old Pharaonic
and Islamic sites in both Luxor and Cairo. He will be accompanying a
specialised Egyptologist and he will only be asking the questions,” said Wael
Abdel Aziz, crew coordinator.
The
part of the film that is being shot in Egypt will focus on a book written by an
Egyptian scholar called Ahmed Ragab, entitled “The Medieval Islamic Hospital:
Medicine, Religion, and Charity”. The book highlights the foundation and role
of hospitals during the Islamic era. Harvard scholar Ragab will also be part of
the documentary, due to his extensive knowledge.
According
to Abdel Aziz, Freeman has asked the entire crew to sign secrecy agreements in
order to control any leaks. “We only deal with Mr. Freeman through his agent;
none of us has privately spoken with him,” said Abdel Aziz.
The
crew has already filmed in Turkey, and they are planned to continue filming the
documentary in both India and Jerusalem.
In
reference to the circulating news regarding the state’s censorship, Abdel Aziz
confirmed that they have neither received any official notices, nor do they
expect any future complications. “This is a documentary not a movie; meaning
that the censorship of theMinistry of Culture of does not apply to our
scripts,” said Abdel Aziz.
According
to the ministry’s guidelines, documentaries should be approved by the
information centre solely, as they only present a general outline of their
schedule and main idea, unlike feature films, which are required to present
detailed scripts to the censorship authority.
“The minister of culture is a former
journalist with wide experience in documentaries; therefore, he of all people
understands the regulations,” Abd El-Aziz added. “We have already acquired the
approval of national security and the information centre.”
Meanwhile,
the director of state censorship conveyed a rather aggressive statement to
local media platforms, threatening to deport Freeman and the crew if the film
contains any material that “insults God”. According to Abdel Aziz, the crew
translated the director’s statement for Freeman.
“Mr. Freeman got very upset when he
knew that the director threatened to deport him; he was so upset thathe wanted
to cancel the part discussing Egypt,” said Abdel Aziz.
Moreover,
the crew member has also confirmed that nothing in the script should offend any
religion and that it only discusses previous civilisations and past-era gods.
“Mr.
Freeman will be leaving Egypt on Friday, only after meeting the minister of
tourism. They have not set the exact time yet; however, they will be meeting on
Friday,” said Abdel Aziz.
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