On Screen · c. 1323–30 BC · Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Upper Egypt, Egypt
Zahi Hawass documentary The Man with the Hat to premiere in California
Directed by Jeffrey Roth and filmed entirely in Egypt, the documentary follows the former antiquities minister and revisits Tutankhamun's death and the search for Cleopatra's tomb.
News reports
Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt A documentary about the Egyptian archaeologist Zahi Hawass, titled The Man with the Hat, premieres on 10 January at the Newport Beach Film Festival in California. A worldwide digital release follows on 26 January. Hawass announced the dates, according to the Egyptian news site Scoop Empire.
The film is a Hollywood production directed by Jeffrey Roth of Playground Productions. Roth said it was filmed entirely in Egypt, at a number of archaeological sites. Scoop Empire reports that Roth wanted to explore Hawass on a deeply personal level. He also wanted to examine how Hawass's work, personality and presence have shaped the world's understanding of ancient Egypt.
From Damietta to the antiquities ministry
The documentary traces Hawass's life from his boyhood in Damietta, a city in the Nile Delta. It follows him to his place on TIME magazine's list of the world's most influential people.
Scoop Empire describes him as a former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. The same article also calls him Egypt's Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. These are two different titles, and the report does not explain the difference.
The film also covers his efforts to protect Egyptian antiquities and to bring objects back to Egypt from abroad. Scoop Empire says Hawass is widely regarded as a real-life inspiration for the film character Indiana Jones.
Tutankhamun and Cleopatra on screen
According to Scoop Empire, the documentary recounts Hawass's best-known excavations and research. These include what the article calls Cleopatra's burial site and the death of King Tutankhamun. The film also covers major discoveries elsewhere in Egypt.
The tomb of Cleopatra VII has never been found. She was the last ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and died in 30 BC. The ancient biographer Plutarch writes that she was buried beside Mark Antony. Excavations at Taposiris Magna, a temple site west of Alexandria, have searched for the tomb for years without locating it.
Tutankhamun died young, around 1323 BC. Howard Carter found his tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922. Hawass led a team that scanned the king's mummy by CT in 2005. He was also lead author of a DNA and CT study published in the journal JAMA in 2010.
That study proposed that malaria and a bone disorder contributed to the king's death. Other researchers have questioned those conclusions. The cause of his death is still debated.
The Scoop Empire article is a preview written before the premiere. It quotes no historians or Egyptologists from outside the production. It also does not say whether the film presents these debates or how it frames the search for Cleopatra's tomb.
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