The film was an adaptation of Ghassan Kanafani's novella 'Men in the Sun' (1962).
BFI London Film Festival has announced to screening of a restored version of the timeless 1972 film The Dupes (Al-Makhdu’un) in its upcoming edition, running from October 4 to 15.
This cinematic gem will be featured within the festival’s ‘Treasures – Revived and Restored from the World’s Archives’ section.
The festival’s website describes the film as “an uncompromising film that was banned for decades, yet still has the power to unsettle audiences in this striking restoration.”
Directed and written by Egyptian filmmaker Tawfik Saleh, The Dupes represents a pivotal moment in the history of Arab cinema. The film is an adaptation of Palestinian author Ghassan Kanafani’s novella ‘Men in the Sun’ (1962) and portrays Palestinian refugees as the central protagonists of their own narrative—a pioneering move in the early 1970s.
The narrative unfolds as it traces the harrowing journey of a group of Palestinian refugees who conceal themselves within the confines of a truck’s cargo hold, enduring scorching desert temperatures as they chase dreams of employment and a fresh start in an Arab Gulf nation.
The Dupes had previously earned acclaim by winning the Tanit d’Or at the 1972 Carthage Film Festival. This restored version has already graced screens in Egypt and the UK at various film festivals.
The restoration of The Dupes is a collaborative endeavour, made possible by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project and Cineteca di Bologna, in partnership with the National Film Organisation and Tewfik Saleh’s family, with funding support from the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
The BFI London Film Festival has also selected Ozr El Wezzah, a short film directed by Mahdy Abo Bahat and Abdo Zin Eldin, to participate in the short film competition.
