Screening: "The Dupes" (1972), Tewfik Saleh, 107 min.
Palestine Cinema Days Around the World 🫒
Sunday, November 2nd, 7pm
VBKÖ-Vereinigung bildender Künstlerinnen Österreichs
Maysedergasse 2/28, 1010 Vienna, Austria
With a film by Tewfik Saleh.
On November 2nd, a day that marks the beginning of dispossession and colonization for Palestinians through the anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, and as part of the global network of screenings standing in solidarity with Palestine, Palestine Cinema Days Around the World 2025, we are hosting a screening of “The Dupes”, a film that follows the lives of three Palestinian refugees in the aftermath of the 1948 Nakba.
While mainstream media and major platforms continue to silence, dehumanize and distort Palestinian stories, this worldwide initiative by the Film Lab Palestine aims to amplify voices from Palestine through film. Together with other screenings around the world, our event stands as part of a collective act of cultural resistance honoring Palestinian narratives through film and the ongoing struggle for justice.
In connection with this event, we’ve also gathered a list of possibilities to support Palestinians as well as Palestinian initiatives. You can check them online via this link: https://drive.proton.me/urls/6M99677DYM#oVKHojGA6gjn
“The Dupes” is a powerful political drama based on the novella “Men in the Sun” by Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani. It follows the tragic journey of three Palestinian refugees—Abu Qais, Assad, and Marwan—each from a different generation, who are desperate to escape the harsh conditions of refugee camps in Lebanon and seek a better life in Kuwait. They pay a smuggler to transport them across the desert hidden inside a water tanker. As they approach the Kuwaiti border under the blazing sun, the smuggler fails to open the tanker in time.The three men die inside, suffocated by the heat. The film ends with the haunting question: “Why didn’t they knock on the walls of the tank?”
Tewfik Saleh was a pioneering Egyptian filmmaker known for his realistic and political cinema. Born in Alexandria in 1926, he studied film in Paris. His bold films tackled deep social and political issues, most notably “The Dupes” (1972), based on Ghassan Kanafani’s novel “Men in the Sun.” Saleh was known for his humanistic style and independent stance, often clashing with censorship authorities. He received several international awards and passed away in 2013, leaving behind a powerful legacy in Arab cinema.
In collaboration with The Golden Pixel Cooperative