The Sahara International Film Festival, FiSahara, called on July 4 for a public boycott of Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film The Odyssey because parts were filmed in Dakhla in Morocco-occupied Western Sahara. FiSahara said Nolan’s premiere appearance would amount to stepping on international law and on the Sahrawi people’s rights to their territory and resources, which it described as being illegally exploited by Morocco. The United Nations considers Western Sahara a non-self-governing territory; Morocco has largely controlled the mineral-rich former Spanish colony since 1975 while the Algerian-backed Polisario Front seeks Sahrawi independence and a referendum on self-determination. The Odyssey, scheduled for U.S. release this month, was filmed in the disputed peninsula and features Zendaya and Matt Damon among its cast. FiSahara said it had pressured Nolan last year to drop the Western Sahara scenes and quoted Spanish film star Javier Bardem urging Nolan to understand Morocco’s repression of the Sahrawi people.
