Christopher Nolan Caught in Political Firestorm Over ‘The Odyssey’ Filming in Western Sahara

Hollywood heavyweight Sir Christopher Nolan has landed at the center of an international controversy after choosing to shoot scenes for his upcoming epic, “The Odyssey”, in the disputed region of Western Sahara.

The British-American director — fresh off his double Oscar win for “Oppenheimer” — is now facing backlash from activists and separatist groups, who accuse him of “whitewashing colonialism” and violating international law by filming in an area claimed by both Morocco and the indigenous Sahrawi people.

Production is currently underway near Dakhla, a desert city at the heart of the decades-long territorial conflict. The film, which stars Matt Damon as Odysseus alongside Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong’o, is set for a global release next July and boasts a massive $250 million budget.

While Morocco recently secured support for its claim over Western Sahara from the US, UK, France, Spain, and Portugal, the decision to use these locations has sparked fresh outrage from the Polisario Front and organizers of the Sahara International Film Festival, who have called for a halt to filming.

Festival director María Carrión warned that Nolan’s project, perhaps unwittingly, risks lending legitimacy to Morocco’s ongoing “occupation and repression” of the Sahrawi people.

Critics argue that, by bringing Hollywood glamour to the region, the film could help the Moroccan regime tighten its diplomatic grip on the territory, all while local voices remain unheard.

So far, Nolan and his production company, Syncopy, have declined to comment. With Western Sahara’s status as a diplomatic flashpoint, the director’s latest adventure is making nearly as many headlines off-screen as it hopes to make in theaters.