Christopher Nolan ‘enabling colonialism by filming in Western Sahara'

Telegraph

5 days ago

Christopher Nolan has been accused of enabling colonialism by filming in Western Sahara.
The 54-year-old British-American director is shooting parts of The Odyssey in Dakhla, in the disputed territory.
The recreation of Homer's epic poem features Matt Damon, as the Greek hero Odysseus, as well as the Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong'o.
Filming took place in Dakhla this month. Scenes had already been shot in Essaouira, Marrakesh and Ouarzazate, in Morocco, as well as in Greece and Scotland.
The North African state has long been a favourite filming destination for Hollywood directors. Lawrence of Arabia and Ridley Scott's Gladiator movies were shot there.
Western Sahara has been claimed and occupied by Morocco since Spain gave up control of the territory in the 1970s.
The decision to film in the disputed territory has prompted the Polisario Front, which claims to represent its indigenous inhabitants, to accuse the director of 'a clear violation of international law and ethical standards governing cultural and artistic work'.
The organisers of the Sahara International Film Festival, which takes place in Polisario-controlled Sahrawi camps in Algeria, told The Times that Dakhla was 'not just a beautiful location with cinematic sand dunes' as they urged Nolan to stop filming in Western Sahara.
They said: 'Primarily, it is an occupied, militarised city whose indigenous Sahrawi population is subject to brutal repression by occupying Moroccan forces.'
María Carrión, the festival's director, said: '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.
'We are sure that were they to understand the full implications of filming such a 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.'
Last month, Britain backed Morocco's claim to the territory after having refused to back either side for decades.
It comes after Morocco won the backing of the United States, France, Spain and Portugal for its continued occupation of the largely desert territory. The Polisario Front abandoned a ceasefire with Morocco in 2020.
Nolan and his film company Syncopy were contacted for comment by The Times.
'This is a production that is extremely important for Morocco,' Reda Benjelloun, who heads the Moroccan government agency in charge of promoting the film industry, previously told Bloomberg. 'It's the first major Hollywood production to choose the southern provinces.'