Palestine Cinema Days – The Dupes

The Dupes
by Tewfik Saleh
1973, Syria, 107 minutes, Arabic with English subtitles

For the Palestine Cinema Days WORM presents The Dupes (1973) by Tewfik Saleh.

Set in the 1950s, The Dupes follows three Palestinian refugees as they attempt to cross the desert from Iraq to Kuwait in search of work and dignity. Based on Ghassan Kanafani’s novel Men in the Sun, the film is a cornerstone of Arab cinema: stark and devastating in its portrayal of exile and the price of statelessness. Saleh’s restrained yet visceral direction turns the refugees’ journey into a universal parable about oppression and the human cost of displacement.

Tewfik Saleh (1926–2013) was an Egyptian filmmaker whose work grappled with questions of injustice, colonial legacies, and social inequality. With The Dupes (1973), widely regarded as his masterpiece, he crafted one of the earliest and most powerful cinematic responses to the Palestinian struggle, a film that continues to resonate today.

The screening takes place as part of Palestine Cinema Days, a global event held annually around the beginning of November, the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration. Organized by Filmlab:Palestine in collaboration with partners worldwide, the initiative amplifies Palestinian films and voices across continents.

The screening takes place in the foyer of WORM, and the entrance is free!