Christopher Nolan Filmed The Odyssey On Occupied Land. Behind It Sits A Deal Linking Morocco, Isr*el And Trump.
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey follows a man separated from his home by war, displacement and an almost endless journey back.
Parts of that story were filmed in Dakhla, Western Sahara, where Sahrawis have spent more than five decades demanding the right to determine the future of their own homeland. The film premiered this week, and the boycott calls are peaking right now, not fading into old news.
That contradiction now sits at the centre of calls to boycott Nolan’s blockbuster. But behind the filming location lies a deeper political story involving Morocco, Isr*el, Donald Trump and a referendum the United Nations promised but never delivered.
Hollywood Arrived Where Sovereignty Remains Unresolved
Western Sahara was colonised by Spain until 1975. After Spain withdrew, Morocco took control of most of the territory, while the Polisario Front fought for an independent Sahrawi state.
The United Nations still lists Western Sahara as a non-self-governing territory. Morocco calls it part of its “Southern Provinces” and proposes autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty. Polisario insists Sahrawis must be allowed to choose independence.
Yet The Odyssey treated Dakhla as an ordinary film location. Nolan, along with stars Matt Damon and Zendaya, were spotted arriving in Dakhla on 17 July, and according to the Independent, the production filmed for four days and left before the Western Sahara International Film Festival issued its public statement asking production to be halted.
Morocco has spent years developing Dakhla as a tourism, investment and cultural hub. A Nolan production offers something official advertising cannot easily manufacture, global cultural legitimacy.
Hollywood Could Film. Sahrawis Say Their Cameras Can Bring Prison
Sahrawi artist Mohamed Sleiman Labat wrote in a Guardian op-ed that “we the Sahrawi do not want our homeland to be the sanitized backdrop for western epics,” adding that Nolan’s choice “highlights the extractivist practices embedded in the western film industry.”
María Carrión, executive director of FiSahara, went further in an interview with Democracy Now, calling Morocco’s conduct in the territory “cultural genocide” and “ethnic cleansing,” and saying that “by staying silent for one year and then using this footage, Nolan has basically become an accomplice to Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara.”
The controversy has drawn public support from Javier Bardem, Pedro Almodóvar and Greta Thunberg, all of whom have called for the Dakhla scenes to be cut from the film.
The controversy is therefore not only about Nolan choosing a disputed location. It is about who is permitted to create images there and whose reality is allowed to remain visible.
Hollywood could transform Dakhla into ancient Greece. Sahrawis say filming Dakhla as it actually exists can make them targets.
The Bargain Linking Morocco, Isr*el And Trump
In December 2020, Morocco agreed to normalise relations with Isr*el through a US-brokered deal.
As part of that agreement, Trump reversed longstanding American policy and recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara.
Isr*el formally recognised Morocco HYPERLINK “https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/17/israel-recognises-western-sahara-as-part-of-morocco”‘ HYPERLINK “https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/17/israel-recognises-western-sahara-as-part-of-morocco”s sovereignty claim in July 2023 and considered opening a consulate in Dakhla.
The Odyssey has no demonstrated operational connection to Isr*el. But its filming location exists inside a political structure strengthened by that diplomatic arrangement.
For Morocco, recognition from Washington and Isr*el represented a major victory. For Sahrawis, their homeland became part of a bargain negotiated without them.
The Referendum Never Happened
The UN established MINURSO in 1991 to support a ceasefire and help organise a referendum on Western Sahara’s future.
More than three decades later, the vote has never taken place.
In October 2025, the Security Council adopted Resolution 2797. It renewed MINURSO while positioning Morocco’s autonomy proposal as the central basis for negotiations. The resolution passed with 11 votes in favour, China, Pakistan and Russia abstained, while Algeria did not vote. Polisario rejected the framework because it excludes the independence option.
What began as a process intended to let Sahrawis choose their future is increasingly becoming a negotiation over the terms under which Morocco remains in control.
When Scenery Becomes Political
There is no evidence Nolan selected Dakhla to endorse Morocco’s sovereignty claim.
But normalisation does not always require an explicit endorsement.
A global production can make disputed territory appear stable, accessible and unquestionably governed by the authority granting access. The coastline becomes scenery. The occupation disappears from view. The unresolved status vanishes from the frame.
The Odyssey tells a story about exile and reclaiming home.
The production left Dakhla with its footage. Sahrawis remain with the unfinished promise that one day they will be allowed to decide what home becomes.
Hyperlinked Sources
Middle East Eye: Calls to boycott The Odyssey over filming in occupied Western Sahara
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/calls-boycott-odyssey-over-filming-occupied-western-sahara
FiSahara: The Odyssey nightmare, filmed in an occupied territory
The Independent, via Yahoo: Christopher Nolan urged to suspend filming in occupied Western Sahara
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/christopher-nolan-urged-suspend-filming-165500089.html
https://www.democracynow.org/2026/7/17/the_odyssey
Al Jazeera: Isr*el recognises Western Sahara as part of Morocco
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/17/israel-recognises-western-sahara-as-part-of-morocco
France24: Morocco says Isr*el recognises its sovereignty over disputed Western Sahara
United Nations: Security Council Resolution 2797
https://press.un.org/en/2025/sc16208.doc.htm
https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/25/un-western-sahara-peoples-self-determination-at-risk
