Christopher Nolan Criticized for Filming The Odyssey in “Occupied Territories”
According to Cinemadrame News Agency, Christopher Nolan has faced criticism for filming parts of his star-studded epic The Odyssey in the Western Sahara region of Morocco. Amazon had previously filmed its series The Wheel of Time in this area.
The British filmmaker shot scenes from The Odyssey in the coastal city of Dakhla, which the United Nations has designated as an “autonomous territory” since 1963. This region is not officially part of Morocco, but in recent years Western governments, including the UK and the US, have encouraged Morocco to annex it.
The Western Sahara International Film Festival (FiSahara) issued a statement protesting Nolan’s decision and calling for filming to be halted immediately. So far, Universal has not responded to this request.
The festival’s statement reads:
“Dakhla is not just a beautiful cinematic location with sweeping sand dunes. Primarily, it is an occupied and militarized city whose indigenous Sahrawi population is subjected to brutal repression by Moroccan occupying forces. By filming parts of The Odyssey in an occupied territory described by ‘Reporters Without Borders’ as a ‘news black hole,’ Nolan and his crew may unintentionally and unknowingly be contributing to Morocco’s oppression of the Sahrawi people.”
The festival asserts that Nolan and the other creators of The Odyssey would be “horrified” if they knew that people from this region are not allowed to make films about their own stories:
“Morocco has launched a film festival in Dakhla to counter ours and produce big-budget films portraying Western Sahara as part of Morocco. But Sahrawis who want to make films about their own lives are persecuted, forced to work in secrecy, and put themselves and their families at risk.”
Celebrities such as Javier Bardem and Penélope Cruz have supported this festival in the past. Bardem shared the festival’s statement and commented:
“Moroccan occupiers have turned Dakhla into a tourist destination and now a film location, and their goal has always been to erase Sahrawi identity from the city.”
The film’s story follows Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War.
Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Charlize Theron, Anne Hathaway, Robert Pattinson, Jon Bernthal, John Leguizamo, Samantha Morton, Himesh Patel, Elliot Page, Bill Irwin, Jesse Garcia, Cosmo Jarvis, Ryan Hurst, and Will Yun Lee will appear in the film. The Odyssey is set to be released on July 17, 2026.
