RIYADH, 24 September 2005 — A Greek TV crew has arrived from Athens for producing a documentary on Saudi Arabia that seeks to project a balanced view of the Kingdom.
“There is nothing like black and white in this world. There are many tones of grey,” Yorgos Avgeropoulos, director and author of Exandas, one of the most popular programs of Greek National Television in Greece, told Arab News.
He said that during their weeklong stay in the capital they plan to meet senior government officials, businessmen, reformers and representative of the religious police for an objective presentation on Saudi Arabia. The hourlong documentary will be telecast in January next year.
According to Costas Georgiadis, a researcher and producer of the Exandas series, the documentary will feature, among other things, the ongoing reforms in the Kingdom, the opening up of the country to the outside world, oil and its contribution to the economy, the position of women in society, the religious police and its role in the community, and the Kingdom’s war on terrorism.
Exandas documentaries are broadcast every month by ERT, the Greek National Television. Described as one of the most popular programs on ERT, Exandas started airing in March 1999.
The crew members said their intention is to produce a documentary that will portray Saudi Arabian society in terms of politics, economy, social life and culture. It will also discuss the US-led war on Iraq from an Arab perspective.
Since 9/11, quite a few TV documentaries have been produced on the Kingdom mainly by the Americans.
The Greek production, the first from that country, is expected to be an objective portrayal of the Kingdom that will look at Saudi society without prejudice.
