Nolan accused of legitimizing the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara for 'The Odyssey'

The production of The Odyssey continues to generate controversy . The chosen locations sparked criticism on social media from the start (it was suggested that the city of Ait Ben Haddou, in Morocco, could be the setting for Troy. Many historians quickly protested, asserting that such an exotic, oriental feel was not at all appropriate for representing the enemy). And these criticisms have now been joined by those of the International Film Festival of Western Sahara (FiSahara), which has criticized the director of Oppenheimer for choosing another city that has been under Moroccan occupation for 50 years.

Part of the film (which has already started selling tickets, despite the fact that its release is a year away and filming has not yet been completed) is being shot in the coastal city of Dakhla, in Western Sahara, which was forced to live under Moroccan occupation after the country annexed it following Spain's withdrawal in 1976, reports The Guardian.

Amnesty International stated in a recent report that torture, detention, physical abuse, persecution, intimidation, harassment, slander, defamation, technological sabotage, and long prison sentences are the daily routine of Sahrawi journalists. The organizers of FiSahara assert that the presence of Nolan's cast will only help cover up the Moroccan occupation and normalize repression.

They also wanted to remind everyone that while Dakhla is a "beautiful place with cinematic-looking dunes," it is also, above all, "an occupied and militarized city, with a population subject to brutal repression by the Moroccan occupation forces." They point out that, by filming part of the movie in an occupied territory, Nolan and his team are "perhaps unknowingly" contributing to repression and its normalization. "We are sure that if they understood the full implications of filming a high-profile film in a territory whose people are unable to make their own films about their stories under occupation, Nolan and his team would be horrified," they also indicated.

"The presence of Nolan's cast will only help cover up the Moroccan occupation and normalize repression."

“Morocco only allows entry into occupied Western Sahara to those who fit its strategy of selling its occupation to the outside world,” they stated. “Tourists who flock to Moroccan-built resorts, companies willing to participate in the plundering of natural resources, journalists willing to follow its example, and high-profile visitors like Nolan and his team, who help Morocco spread the idea that Western Sahara is part of Morocco and that Sahrawis are content to live under its rule, receive first-class treatment.”

The director of The Odyssey has yet to comment on the matter. FiSahara, founded in 2004, is held in Sahrawi refugee camps in the Algerian desert. Known as " the Cannes of the desert ," its goal is to use film to entertain, transmit knowledge, and empower refugees from Western Sahara.