Calls to boycott the film 'Odyssey' due to filming in occupied Western Sahara

Problems of Sahrawi media

Hachimi previously participated in the production of the short documentary 'Three Stolen Cameras,' which highlighted the difficulties faced by the Sahrawi media organization Equipe Media when trying to document human rights violations against Sahrawis in Western Sahara. This film was originally planned to premiere in Beirut in 2017, but it was shot after pressure from the Moroccan government. Members of Equipe Media also faced arrests and persecution from Moroccan authorities.

Hachimi explained that two of his colleagues—Abdalla Lafouni, serving a life sentence, and Bashir Haddah, serving a 20-year sentence—are political prisoners simply for documenting human rights abuses in occupied Western Sahara. He expressed deep concern that while Sahrawi journalists are being jailed for exposing abuses, an international film production company can use their homeland as a backdrop, ignoring the reality of the occupation.

Contrast between scandals

Most attention on 'Odyssey' was focused on a campaign by ultra-right internet trolls who tried to stir controversy over the casting of Lupita Nyong'o as Helen of Troy. Nolan dismissed this debate as 'trivial,' but Sahrawis argue that the real scandal lies in how Nolan justifies the exploitation of their homeland by Morocco. They also point out that the same security forces that brutally treated Sahrawi activists in the occupied territory facilitated the filming.

Meanwhile, Moroccan Minister of Culture Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid took a selfie with Nolan and expressed hope that it would 'bring fame to Dakhla as a filming location, not just a tourist destination.' Despite the campaign supported by various stars and activists, including Javier Bardem, Pedro Almodóvar, and Greta Thunberg, calling for the removal of scenes shot in Dakhla, Nolan remains silent. Requests sent to MEE at Universal Pictures and Nolan's production company Syncopy Inc. asking for comments went unanswered.

Position of Sahrawi filmmakers

Mohamed Salem Werad, a Sahrawi documentarian, stated: 'As a filmmaker, I find this extremely disappointing.' He noted that the decision to shoot in occupied Western Sahara was not a politically neutral choice, as it meant working with the permission of the occupying power in a territory where the indigenous Sahrawi population has long been deprived of the right to self-determination.

Werad, who gained recognition through his documentary about the life of Sahrawi singer Mariem Hassan, informed MEE that a boycott is the only remaining option for viewers. He believes that a boycott sends a clear signal that filmmakers cannot expect the audience to ignore decisions that risk legitimizing the occupation.

Another Sahrawi director, Abidin Mohamed Hamoudi, stated that the entire team behind 'Odyssey' 'participates' in the subjugation of Western Sahara. He added that Hollywood's attitude is an extension of capitalism's and Western economies' attitude towards Global South resources in the 'most grotesque, hyper-realized form.' Hamoudi called for condemnation, stating that history will punish everyone according to their deeds, and they will be 'in the dust of history, remembered only as cultural parasites.'

International festival and calls

'Odyssey,' valued at around $250 million and riding the success wave of Nolan's 'Oppenheimer,' is scheduled to be a summer blockbuster. However, Sahrawis insist that beneath the glamour and splendor lies a harsh reality ignored by both Hollywood and the international community.

Every year, Sahrawis and foreign activists hold the International Film Festival of Western Sahara (FiSahara) in refugee camps in southwestern Algeria, where hundreds of thousands of Sahrawis live, forced to leave their homes due to Moroccan actions. The goal of FiSahara is to showcase socially conscious cinema from both local and foreign directors, and it has become one of the main factors prompting calls to boycott 'Odyssey.'

Maria Carron, the festival's executive director, reported that Nolan's team used the services of security forces during the filming—the same military and police who brutally treat Sahrawis resisting under constant siege just a few kilometers from the filming location. These people are subjected to beatings, arbitrary arrests, and their equipment is confiscated when they attempt to make their own films about life under occupation. She recalled that last year, when Nolan and his team were shooting on the Endless Sand Dune near Dakhla, FiSahara and a number of Sahrawi directors and activists protested, demanding that Nolan and Universal suspend filming, leave the territory, and not include these shots in the film without the consent of the Sahrawi people. Their demands were not met.

Carron concluded that FiSahara calls for a public boycott of the film and demands that Nolan be held accountable for personal gain from the illegal occupation by cooperating with Moroccan authorities for entry and filming on the territory, and subsequently for using images of Western Sahara without the consent of its rightful owners—the Sahrawi people—which she termed an act of plunder.