FESTIVAL IZIS
FILM

Set in the 1950s, The Dupes traces the destinies of three different men brought together by their dispossession, their despair and their hope for a better future. The protagonists are Palestinian refugees who are trying to make their way across the border from Iraq into Kuwait, the ‘Promised Land,’ concealed in the steel tank of a truck. 

Representing different dimensions of the Palestinian experience, each one believes he can make a new life for himself, but as the film’s title suggests, their flight is no solution.

One of the first Arab films to address the Palestinian question, ‘The Dupes’ is based on the 1962 novella ‘Men in the Sun’ by assassinated Palestinian writer, artist and resistance leader, Ghassan Kanafani. Set in Iraq and Kuwait, and filmed in Syria by Tewfik Saleh, an Egyptian director, the film was banned in several Arab countries due to its implied criticisms of Arab governments.

Comment by the film selection curator, Anastasiye Pruyidze, KUD Format: “The film directly addresses the events of the Nakba, the mass expulsion of Palestinians in 1948. Collectively, we must understand the roots of the current horrors — they did not happen within the context of the last 48 hours or three years. The day of the screening, November 2, also carries symbolic weight, as it marks the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which signified the beginning of colonial policy in Palestine. So, the entire screening is subtly historical and, in my opinion, also educational in nature — especially today, when history is acquiring a new aftertaste that many are still unable to digest.”

CREDITS:
Director: Tewfik Saleh
Writers: Ghassan Kanafani (novel “Men in the Sun”), Tewfik Saleh
Cinematographer: Bahgat Heidar
Editors: Farin Dib, Saheb Haddad
Music: Solhi El-Wadi
Sound Department: Zoheir Fahmy
Starring: Mohamed Kheir-Halouani, Abdul Rahman Al Rashi, Bassam Lofti Abou-Ghazala, Thanaa Debsi

Palestine Cinema Days (PCD) is the annual international film festival organized by Filmlab Palestine. Founded in 2014 in Ramallah, Filmlab’s mission is to empower Palestinian voices, support the development of a local film industry, and revive cinema culture in Palestine through the powerful tools of self-expression and storytelling.

The “Around the World” initiative was launched in 2023 as part of Palestine Cinema Days and quickly evolved into a global movement of solidarity following the outbreak of the war in Gaza. It represents a significant grassroots alternative distribution network, enabling Palestinian narratives to be seen and heard on an unprecedented scale through screenings across numerous countries.

Under the banner #HereThereAndForever, the festival and its growing global community act as a vital testament to Palestinian resilience and cultural continuity. In the face of immense challenges, cinema remains a potent form of creative defiance and a means to preserve collective memory.