Oscar-winning filmmaker Christopher Nolan faced backlash for shooting parts of his upcoming film, The Odyssey, in the Western Sahara. Organisations and communities stated that instead of shooting in the region, the filmmaker and his entire team must stand in solidarity with the indigenous Sahrawi population of the region.
As much as 70 per cent of the Western Sahara is occupied by Morocco, and the shoot of The Odyssey took place in the city of Dakhla, which has been deemed the capital of the Moroccan administrative region of Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab. Nolan's ambitious project stars Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, and others in key roles.
Western Sahara is a disputed territory and is classified as "non-self-governing" by the United Nations. Home to the indigenous Sahrawi people, it is the last remaining African colonial state to achieve independence, with Morocco still claiming control over the majority of its land.
Last week, after the four-day shoot of The Odyssey wrapped up in Dakhla, the Western Sahara International Film Festival (aka FiSahara), which takes place in Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria, released a statement, condemning Nolan.
"Dakhla is not just a beautiful place with cinematic sand dunes. First and foremost, it is an occupied and militarized city whose indigenous Sahrawi population is subjected to brutal repression by the Moroccan occupation forces," the statement read.
"The production should stop filming in Dakhla and stand in solidarity with the Sahrawi people who have been under military occupation for 50 years and who are routinely imprisoned and tortured for their peaceful struggle for self-determination," it added.
On the other hand, Reda Benjelloun of the Moroccan Cinematographic Centre told local media that the shoot of Nolan's film in Dakhla was "extremely important", as it is the first Hollywood production house to do so, and it will encourage other filmmakers to explore the region.
Dakhla will indeed offer extraordinary opportunities in the future to foreign productions ... which will find geography very different from other regions of Morocco," Benjelloun reportedly said.
Nolan and his team are yet to issue an official statement on the debate.
Meanwhile, The Odyssey is all set to release in cinemas on July 17, 2026. It is an adaptation of Homer's ancient Greek epic poem. The tickets for the screening of the film had gone live recently, and were sold out within minutes.
