Organisers of the Western Sahara international film festival (FiSahara) have criticised Christopher Nolan for shooting part of his adaptation of The Odyssey in the city of Dakhla, which has been under Moroccan occupation for 50 years. They warn the move could normalise decades of repression against the Sahrawi people.
The film, starring Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o and Anne Hathaway, is due for release on 17 July 2026. Universal Pictures has described it as a “mythic action epic shot across the world” using new IMAX film technology. However, the choice of Dakhla has provoked fierce criticism from Sahrawi activists and those forced into exile after Morocco annexed the territory in 1976.
The United Nations classifies Western Sahara as a “non-self-governing territory”. A UN report last year noted that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had not been granted access since 2015 and continued to receive allegations of human rights violations, including intimidation and discrimination against Sahrawis advocating for self-determination.
FiSahara's executive director, María Carrión, said that while Dakhla is a beautiful location, it is “first and foremost … an occupied and militarised city whose indigenous Sahrawi population is subjected to brutal repression”. She added that by filming there, Nolan and his team, “perhaps unknowingly”, are contributing to Morocco's efforts to normalise its occupation.
The festival has called on Nolan and his cast and crew to stand in solidarity with the Sahrawi people, who have been under military occupation for 50 years and are routinely imprisoned and tortured for their peaceful struggle for self-determination. Nolan's representatives have been contacted for comment but have yet to respond.
