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CBC
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Director Christopher Nolan criticized for filming The Odyssey in disputed Western Sahara
Social Sharing Revered Hollywood director Christopher Nolan's next summer blockbuster won't hit theatres until July 17, 2026, and it's already setting precedents — and courting controversy. The man behind box office hits like Oppenheimer and Inception is currently filming a big-screen version of Homer's post-Trojan War epic The Odyssey, starring Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Anne Hathaway, Zendaya, Lupita Nyong'o and Charlize Theron. Tickets for IMAX 70mm screenings of the $250-million US movie already sold out earlier this month, a full year before its release. It's the first commercial production to be filmed entirely with IMAX cameras. While all of this makes the film buzzworthy, Nolan and The Odyssey are coming under fire for filming scenes in the disputed territory of Western Sahara, which Morocco has occupied for the past 50 years and, according to human rights groups, has cracked down on dissent, limits press freedom and restricts entry to foreign journalists and observers. The organizers of Western Sahara International Film Festival (FiSahara) are leading calls for Nolan and his cast to suspend production in the territory, arguing that Morocco subjects the Sahrawi people to "brutal repression" and normalizes the occupation of what's often referred to as"Africa's last colony." "We are sure that were they to understand the full implications of filming such as 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," read a statement from FiSahara. What's the criticism for filming in Western Sahara? FiSahara says that Moroccan media reported Nolan and stars Damon and Zendaya were spotted arriving in the southern coastal city of Dakhla earlier this month. The English-language website Hespress was among those reporting the production moved to Western Sahara after filming in Morocco. Festival executive director Maria Carrión says that by filming in the territory they are "perhaps unknowingly and unwillingly" adding to "the repression of the Sahrawi people by Morocco." Amnesty International has condemned Morocco for "violently" breaking up a demonstration by Sahrawi women activists in early 2024 and destroying the homes of a dozen Sahrawi families in April of that year. The UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights said in 2024 it "continued to receive allegations relating to human rights violations, including intimidation, surveillance and discrimination against Sahrawi individuals particularly when advocating for self-determination." Reporters Without Borders once referred to Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara as "a veritable news black hole that has become a no-go zone for journalists." Neither Nolan nor the studio, Universal Pictures, have reacted publicly to calls to move the production. WATCH | Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer wins big at 2024 Academy Awards: Huge night for Oppenheimer at the 96th Oscars 1 year ago What's the history of Western Sahara? The territory, stretching more than 1,100 kilometres along the Atlantic coast of northern Africa, is sandwiched between Morocco to the north and Mauritania to the south and much of the east, with a sliver of land in the northeast bordering Algeria. Morocco invaded and annexed Western Sahara, which the United Nations refers to as a "non-self-governing territory," after Spanish colonial rule came to an end in 1975, sparking a 16-year war with the militarized Polisario Front, which attempted to declare independence for what it calls the Sahrawi Democratic Arab Republic. During the 1980s, Morocco constructed a 2,700-kilometre sand wall across the desert to prevent Polisario Front attacks and keep the independence movement restricted to a small eastern stretch of the territory. The area around the barrier is heavily surrounded with landmines. The United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991, which included a promise to hold a referendum on Sahrawi self-determination, but that has yet to happen more than 40 years later. Today, Western Sahara remains sparsely populated, with an estimated 612,000 people spread out over the 266,000 square-kilometre territory. But the United Nations refugee agency estimates there are more than 173,000 Sahrawis living in five refugee camps in Algeria — one of which is named Dakhla, after the very city where The Odyssey is said to be filming. The Polisario Front declared an end to its ceasefire with Morocco in November 2020. The following month, Morocco signed onto the first Trump administration's Abraham Accords, normalizing its relations with Israel on the condition that the U.S. recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara. Israel made the same recognition in 2023, while Spain, France, the United Kingdom and most recently Portugal have backed Morocco's pitch to recognize the territory as an autonomous region under its control. Why is filming foreign movies there a problem? Nolan, who has also filmed scenes for The Odyssey in Scotland, Ireland and Greece, isn't the first to take a production to the Western Sahara. Scenes in the second season of the Amazon series The Wheel of Time were also said to have been filmed around Dakhla sometime between July 2021 and May 2022. And there are efforts to lure others there. The website for Emerge Film Solutions, which describes itself as a "global network of specialized locally bases content producers, fixers, and camera crews," billed Western Sahara as "one of the most remote feeling film locations in the world." But FiSahara says Sahrawi filmmakers can't even tell their own stories without fear of repercussions. "Sahrawis trying to make films about their lives are persecuted and must work clandestinely and at great risk to themselves and their families," the organizers said in their statement. FiSahara itself is held in the refugee camps inside Algeria, where it screens human rights documentaries. Meanwhile Morocco has created its own Dakhla International Film Festival, the second edition of which was held in June. Sahrawi journalist and filmmaker Mamine Hachimi, who co-directed the documentary Three Stolen Cameras about a video activist group documenting human rights violations Western Sahara, told Middle East Eye that he, too, was urging Nolan and his stars to "understand the political ramifications" of filming in the territory. "Art should defy injustice, not perpetuate it," he said.
Saba Yemen
26-04-2025
- Business
- Saba Yemen
Morocco Imports "Valuable Waste" from Europe to Turn It into Wealth
Rabat - (Saba): The Kingdom of Morocco relies on importing recyclable materials, including waste, scrap, and secondary raw materials, from Europe to turn them into wealth. According to the latest figures released by the European Statistical Office, "Morocco imported 821,500 tons of recyclable raw materials in 2024, including waste, scrap, and secondary raw materials." According to the Moroccan newspaper "Hespress," the European Statistical Office indicated that the French market for recyclable raw materials and waste is Morocco's most preferred European destination, with imports exceeding 164,000 tons, followed by the Polish market with more than 163,000 tons, and then the Spanish market with 125,500 tons. The European Statistical Office indicated, according to the newspaper, that "EU countries' exports of organic materials, which the office defines as waste and food waste, to Morocco amounted to 200,600 tons in 2024." In contrast, according to the newspaper, "Morocco exported no more than 160,000 tons of these materials to European Union countries in the same year. Overall, European exports of recyclable raw materials to Morocco declined in 2024, compared to 2023, when they reached approximately 890,000 tons. Waste exports also declined slightly, exceeding 240,000 tons in 2023." The newspaper added, "However, the same data revealed that European exports of these materials to Morocco increased from 300,000 tons in 2020 to 821,500 tons in 2024, while exports of European recyclable metals accounted for the lion's share, with Morocco importing 517,000 tons of them in 2024." The newspaper indicated that "despite the decline in exports in 2024, the quantity remained 58.5 percent higher than in 2004 (an increase of 13.2 million tons)," noting that "EU exports of metals amounted to 19.0 million tons, representing more than half of the total exports of recyclable raw materials." The list of recyclable materials exported by the EU to Morocco includes modest quantities of no more than 20,000 tons of plastic, cardboard and paper, wood, textiles, glass, and other unknown materials. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print more of (International)
Zawya
07-02-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Morocco's tourism to boom on projects, World Cup
Tourism fetched Morocco record revenues in 2024 and the North African Arab nation expects a surge in the next few years as projects gain pace for the 2030 World Cup. Nearly 17.4 million tourists from the oil-rich Gulf, Europe and other countries visited Morocco in 2024, the Ministry of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy said in a report published by Morocco's daily Hespress this week. Revenues swelled by nearly seven percent over 2023 to reach around 112 billion Moroccan dirhams ($11.2 billion), the report said. 'It was an exceptional year for the tourism sector in Morocco…tourism revenues climbed to an unprecedented level…this boom was demonstrated mostly in December, when revenues increased by 11 percent over the same months of 2023,' it said. It said the number of tourists in 2024 was nearly 20 percent higher than in 2023, adding that this 'demonstrated Morocco's ability to attract a larger variety of visitors.' Fatim-Zahra Ammor, the Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social and Solidarity Economy, said in the report that the improvement 'reflects Morocco's ability to adapt to new international trends and to tap its natural and cultural resources.' Bracing for the 2030 games, Morocco said last week it would build 16 tourism villages and have already allocated nearly MAD188 million ($19 million) for phase 1 of the project that will cover various parts of the country. In December, Sabah Akadir and other Moroccan newspapers said Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris is leading a group of local and UAE investors in a project to develop a large tourism project on Morocco's Western Atlantic coast. The investment will include hotels, resorts, and other tourist attractions with the aim of boosting the country's tourism industry, the paper said. The consortium, which includes Sawiris' company Orascom Investment, the UAE-based Al Nowais Group, and Eastern Investment, has submitted a proposal to Morocco's Competition Council, it said. It added that the project involves acquiring full ownership of the Moroccan company SAEMOG, which oversees the Essaouira Mogador coastal project. The US hospitality giant Hilton also revealed plans in late 2024 to open nine new hotels in Morocco. The first hotel will be inaugurated in early 2025 and is based in the 250-metre-tall King Mohammed VI Tower in Sale city near Rabat. According to Ministry data, the tourism sector contributed by nearly seven percent to GDP in 2023 and the level is projected to surge in 2030, when a record 26 million tourists are expected to visit. (Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)
Zawya
28-01-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Morocco to build largest logistics zone
Morocco has launched a project to build its largest logistics zone at a cost of around 550 million Moroccan dirhams ($55 million), the local press reported on Tuesday. The zone is located in the Western Atlantic Casablanca province and is part of projects undertaken by the North African Arab nation in preparation for the 2030 World Cup, which it co-hosts along with Spain and Portugal. Hespress newspaper said the zone would be built on an area of 700,000 sq metres and is expected to attract investments of more than 1,700 million dirhams ($170 million). 'The zone will attract several companies and will largely improve the country's infrastructure and support economic and commercial activity,' it said. (Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon) (
