The decision by director Christopher Nolan to film scenes for his upcoming epic The Odyssey in Western Sahara has drawn sharp criticism from Sahrawi activists, who argue it legitimises Morocco’s occupation of the territory. In an opinion piece for the Guardian, Sahrawi writer Mohamed Sleiman Labat described the choice as a “betrayal” that helps erase the Indigenous people’s own brutal journey.
Labat noted that while Sahrawi filmmakers face imprisonment for simply holding a camera in their homeland, international crews are welcomed by Moroccan authorities. Western Sahara has been occupied by Morocco since 1975, following a military invasion, and is recognised by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory. Half of the Sahrawi population lives in refugee camps in Algeria, while the other half endures a military police state separated by a 2,700km wall fortified with landmines.
Labat condemned the irony of shooting a story about displacement, family separation and the struggle to return home – themes central to Homer’s Odyssey – on land where Sahrawi people have lived their own odyssey for more than 50 years. He argued that using the resources of an occupied territory without the explicit consent of its Indigenous people is not only unethical but illegal under international law.
The author accused Nolan of participating in a state-sponsored PR campaign designed to whitewash Morocco’s occupation, noting that Morocco courts foreign film crews while denying Sahrawi the right to film and express themselves. He described this as part of broader extractivist practices in the western film industry, which mines stories and culture from the global south without consideration for local communities.
