Greta Thunberg backs Western Sahara documentary at Zurich premiere

Greta Thunberg took the stage in Zurich on Tuesday for the world premiere of My Home of Wind and Sand, a documentary built over ten years around Sahrawi activist Najla Mohamed Lamin.

The film is directed by Austrian filmmaker Patrick Wally, who filmed Lamin over a 10-year period, according to The Hollywood Reporter. It profiles Lamin, who was born and raised in refugee camps near Tindouf, Algeria, and who campaigns for Western Sahara's liberation from Moroccan sovereignty.

The shoot lasted a decade. The story follows Lamin from her studies in the United States to representing the Sahrawi people at the United Nations, where she advocates peaceful resistance.

Thunberg attended the Zurich Film Festival premiere in support of the film and spoke to the audience. She urged people to take action and amplify the Western Saharan struggle, and she criticised media silence and betrayal by the international community.

Lamin and Wally also appeared at the premiere. Both urged attendees to spread the word about Western Sahara.

The appearance follows a personal connection. Thunberg visited the Sahrawi camps in January 2025, with Lamin accompanying and translating for her.

Off screen, the film arrived in Zurich with its sales plan in place. Lightdox acquired world sales rights ahead of the world premiere, according to Deadline. In plain terms, a sales company sells a film territory by territory to local distributors. A world premiere means the first public screening anywhere.

That first screening took place on Tuesday at the Zurich Film Festival, according to Swissinfo. Public screenings were then scheduled for the Wednesday and Thursday that followed, Deadline reported, a tight festival pattern that lets audiences and buyers catch a new title fast.

The film is produced by Shirin Hooshmandi, Lamin and Wally, with editing by Anna Kirst. The festival maintains an official programme page titled My Home of Wind and Sand, which names Daniel Rutz alongside Wally and Thunberg.

What makes this stand out for festival watchers is the combination of a long production and a fast launch. Ten years of filming came down to one week in Zurich, with a well-known supporter in the room and a sales agent already attached to take the film on to other buyers.