Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ wades into African territorial dispute

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Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan’s upcoming movie is sparking controversy in North Africa, with the decision to shoot some scenes in a long-disputed territory incurring the ire of a rebel group fighting for independence.

Nolan, who took home two Academy Awards for Oppenheimer in 2024, has chosen to film parts of The Odyssey in the desert landscape near Dakhla, an Atlantic city in Western Sahara. The area was recognized by US President Donald Trump as coming under Moroccan rule in 2020, opening up a wave of investment, development and tourism.

Nolan picked a number of global locations for The Odyssey, a $250 million epic starring Matt Damon as the Greek hero Odysseus alongside a host of other stars including Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong’o. But the choice of Dakhla may garner the most attention for Universal Studios Inc. after strong criticism from the Polisario Front, an armed group that claims to be the legitimate representative of the indigenous people of Western Sahara.

Polisario, based in Algeria and considered by Morocco as a proxy for its larger neighbor and arch rival, accused The Odyssey’s makers of whitewashing colonialism and committing “a clear violation of international law and ethical standards governing cultural and artistic work.”

The group abandoned a long-standing ceasefire in 2020, and has previously warned that continued support for Moroccan rule by the US — later joined by France and Spain — would leave it with no choice but to step up its resistance. That said, attacks to date have mainly targeted Moroccan troops hundreds of miles away near the Algerian border.

The United Nations designates Western Sahara, a resource-rich area that’s larger than the UK, as a non-self-governing territory.

Neither Universal nor representatives for the filmmakers responded to emailed requests for comment.

The filming in Dakhla comes within the context of “a broader and very concerted Moroccan strategy to leverage its economic, political and cultural influence to try and solidify its claim to the territory,” said Hugh Lovatt, a senior policy fellow for the Middle East and North Africa region at the European Council on Foreign Relations. “There is a sense that the international community is increasingly aligning behind the Moroccan positions.”

The dispute over Western Sahara has caught the attention of Hollywood in the past, with Spanish stars Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz expressing concern about human rights violations against the Sahrawi people in the area. One way for Universal and Nolan to avoid negative publicity would be “to give a voice and agency to the Sahrawis,” Lovatt said.

For Morocco, Nolan’s arrival is a boost for its push to promote investment and tourism in a region that it sees as a driver of wealth creation for decades to come.

“This is a production that is extremely important for Morocco,” said Reda Benjelloun, who heads CCM, the Moroccan government agency in charge of promoting the film industry. “It’s the first major Hollywood production to choose the southern provinces,” he added, in reference to the disputed territory.

Nolan traveled to Dakhla earlier this month, having already filmed parts of The Odyssey in Morrocan locations in Essaouira, Marrakech and Ouarzazate, as well as countries such as Greece and Scotland. Morocco has long been a favored location for Hollywood, from 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator series.

“This is extremely important for Morocco and the film industry’s development goals,” Benjelloun said in a phone interview. “It establishes Dakhla in the film ecosystem.”