Paris (France), July 9, 2026 (SPS) – Reactions continue to mount condemning the filming of scenes for the feature film “The Odyssey” in the occupied city of Dakhla, accusing Morocco of using cinema to legitimize its occupation of Western Sahara and whitewash its crimes against Sahrawi civilians.
In this context, the French Association of Friendship and Solidarity with African Peoples (AFASPA) stated that the film, directed by Christopher Nolan, contributes to the normalization of the occupation in Western Sahara. According to the association, Morocco is using the production to promote the territory as a "luxury tourism destination and a hub for attracting world-renowned celebrities."
The French association stressed that turning the occupied city of Dakhla into a platform for tourism and cinematic promotion, without taking into account its legal status as part of the occupied territory of Western Sahara, contributes to erasing the collective memory of the Sahrawi people and whitewashing the reality of the occupation.
AFASPA also joined the call of the FiSahara – Western Sahara International Film Festival, which stated that "Western Sahara does not need to become a cinematic backdrop; it needs the voice of its people to be heard."
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