The Western Sahara International Film Festival, known as FiSahara, has called for a boycott of Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated film The Odyssey, arguing that scenes shot in Western Sahara amount to a political endorsement of Morocco’s control over the disputed territory.

Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony, has been listed by the United Nations as a non-self-governing territory since the 1960s, while Morocco controls most of the area and regards it as part of its sovereign territory. 

“When Christopher Nolan steps onto the red carpet at the premiere, he will also be trampling on international law – particularly the right of the Sahrawi people to the territorial integrity of their homeland and its resources, which Morocco is illegally exploiting,” FiSahara Executive Director María Carrión said in a statement.

The festival has accused the production of helping to “normalise” Morocco’s presence in Western Sahara. FiSahara had already criticised Nolan and the film’s crew in 2025, urging them to halt filming in Dakhla, a city in the territory controlled by Morocco. 

Nolan’s The Odyssey, a major screen adaptation of Homer’s ancient Greek epic, is one of the most closely watched film releases of 2026. The production has already attracted attention in Greece and abroad over its cast, locations and cultural handling of one of the foundational works of Western literature.