WESTERN SAHARA23 JUL 2026The displaced people left outside Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’Filming Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ in Western Sahara, a disputed territory, raises ethical questions about…Mohamed Elbaikam7 min read

In Western Sahara, hospitality is more than a social custom. It is part of the moral character of Sahrawi society. Sahrawis traditionally lived in tents open in four directions, expressing a simple idea: the guest can arrive from any side and will be welcomed.

Food, tea, protection and conversation are offered without first asking where the visitor comes from. But hospitality also carries a responsibility. Visitors are expected to respect the place, its people, their identity and their way of life.

The principle applies to those who come to Western Sahara today, including international filmmakers. Sahrawis do not reject cinema, creativity or cultural exchange. They welcome contact with the world.

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But entering their land should not require leaving its people, history and identity outside the frame. Christopher Nolan’sThe Odysseyis built around one of humanity’s oldest stories: war, separation, endurance and the longing to return home. Yet filming part of the epic near Dakhla, in Western Sahara, creates a contradiction that the production cannot simply ignore.

To a filmmaker, the region may offer spectacular coastlines, dunes and a sense of timeless distance. To a major cinematic production, it may appear to be an ideal setting for Homer’s world. But Western Sahara is not an empty landscape available only for cinematic imagination.

It is a land with a people, a history and a political status that remains unresolved. The Sahrawi people did not emerge as a modern nation overnight. For centuries, Western Sahara was home to a network of tribes connected by Hassaniya Arabic, shared cultural traditions and a common relationship with the land.

As colonial expansion intensified across north-west Africa, the communities increasingly united to defend their territory and freedom. Sahrawis became known for resisting foreign domination in the region, while many also participated alongside neighbouring peoples in anti-colonial struggles that contributed to the liberation of countries such as Mauritania and Morocco. Over time, the communities developed a distinct national identity.

Today, the Sahrawis are recognised as the Indigenous people of Western Sahara. Their historical homeland is the territory itself, while Sahrawi communities also maintain deep social, cultural and familial ties across neighbouring countries, including Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Algeria and Morocco, reflecting centuries of movement and shared history across the Sahara. Mauritania withdrew from the conflict in 1979 after signing a peace agreement with the Polisario Front.

The conflict with Morocco continued until the United Nations brokered a ceasefire in 1991 on the basis that the people of Western Sahara would decide their future through a referendum on self-determination. More than three decades later, that referendum has not taken place. Western Sahara remains on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories, meaning that its decolonisation process remains unfinished.

The Sahrawi people have therefore spent nearly half a century living through an odyssey of their own. The emotional force ofThe Odysseycomes from the belief that home is not merely a physical location. It is identity, dignity, memory and belonging. These are precisely the things the Sahrawi people have struggled to preserve.

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