SWORD-AND-SANDAL PIC IRKS ARMED ARAB GROUP

Christopher Nolan's Odyssey wades into African territorial dispute

- SOUHAIL KARAM

Oscar-winning director Christopher Nolan's upcoming movie is sparking controversy in North Africa, with the decision to shoot some scenes in a long-disputed territory incurring the ire of a violent national socialist group fighting for independence.

Nolan, who took home two Academy Awards for Oppenheimer in 2024, has chosen to film parts of The Odyssey in the desert landscape near Dakhla, an Atlantic city in Western Sahara. The area was recognised by US President Donald Trump as coming under Moroccan rule in 2020, opening up a wave of investment, development and tourism.

Nolan picked a number of global locations for The Odyssey, a US$250 million (about 8 billion baht) epic starring Matt Damon as the Greek hero Odysseus alongside a host of other stars including Oscar winners Charlize Theron and Lupita Nyong'o. But the choice of Dakhla may garner the most attention for Universal Studios after strong criticism from the Polisario Front, an armed group that claims to be the legitimate representative of the indigenous people of Western Sahara.