Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Gets Backlash Over Controversial Decision
Image credit: Universal Pictures
Christopher Nolan has been asked to stop filming scenes from The Odyssey in the city of Dakhla, located in the Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara.
Why has Christopher Nolan received backlash for filming The Odyssey in a controversial location?
The Western Sahara International Film Festival (FiSahara), which takes place in the Sahrawi refugee camps in Algeria, and international human rights activists have urged Nolan to suspend production in the Dakhla region. FiSahara released a statement, explaining how the indigenous Sahrawi population in the military-occupied city is “subject to brutal repression” by Moroccan forces.
“By filming part of The Odyssey in an occupied territory billed as a ‘news black hole’ by Reporters without Borders, Nolan and his team, perhaps unknowingly and unwillingly, are contributing to the repression of the Sahrawi people by Morocco, and to the Moroccan regime’s efforts to normalise its occupation of Western Sahara”, said FiSahara Executive Director María Carrión.
The festival continued, “We are sure that were they to understand the full implications of filming such as high-profile film in a territory whose indigenous peoples are unable to make their own films about their stories under occupation, Nolan and his team would be horrified. Morocco routinely touts Sahrawi cultural expressions as uniquely Moroccan. They created a film festival in Dakhla to counter ours, and produce high budget films that portray Western Sahara as part of Morocco. However, Sahrawis trying to make films about their lives are persecuted and must work clandestinely and at great risk to themselves and their families.”
Nolan and Universal, the studio behind The Odyssey, have yet to comment on the issue.
The Odyssey is an adaptation of the Greek epic about Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who embarks on a treacherous journey home after the Trojan War. The Odyssey stars Matt Damon as Odysseus and Tom Holland as Odysseus’ son, Telemachus.
The large ensemble includes Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong’o, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, and more.
Nolan writes and directs The Odyssey for Universal. It will be the first blockbuster to be shot entirely with IMAX cameras.
The Odyssey opens in theaters on July 17, 2026.
The post Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey Gets Backlash Over Controversial Decision appeared first on ComingSoon.net - Movie Trailers, TV & Streaming News, and More.
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