The Dupes (Al-Makhdu‘un) by Tawfiq Saleh, (Syria, 1972, 120 min, b&w, 35mm)
 
Synopsis:
This spare black-and-white film is set in 1958, when three Palestinians in Basra, Iraq, decide to travel to Kuwait-each believing he can make a new life for himself there. The three men, from different generations, represent different perspectives on the Palestine issue. Concealed in the steel tank of a truck, the trio attempt to make their way across the border, but encounter fatal setbacks on the way. The Dupes is based on the 1962 novella Men in the Sun by slain Palestinian writer, artist, and resistance leader Ghassan Kanafani, and is one of the first Arab films to tackle the Palestinian issue.

Credits:
Directed by: Tawfiq Saleh
Script: Tawfiq Saleh
Based on the novella Men in the Sun by Ghassan Kanafani
Camera: Bahjat Haidar
Music: Sulfi al-Wadi
Editing: Sahib Haddad
Cast: Abdulrahman Ala Rashi, Mohammad Kheir Halwani, Bassam Lutfi, Thanaa Dibsi
Production: General Organization for Cinema, Syria
Filmmaker’s Biography:
Egyptian born Tawfiq Saleh rose to fame in the 1950s as a pioneer of the realism school in Egyptian and Arab cinema. His early works, Fools’ Alley (Darb al-Mahabeel, 1955), The Struggle of the Heroes (Sira‘a al-Abtal, 1962), and The Rebels (al-Mutamarridun, 1968), were produced after the July 1952 revolution, a period of great political transformation in Egypt. Saleh's most famous film, Everyday Life of a Deputy from the Rural Areas (Yawmiyyat Na’eb Min al-Aryaf, 1968), is considered a watershed in the history of Egyptian cinema, and the definitive work of realism in Arab cinema. Tawfiq Saleh joined the National Organization for Cinema in Syria in 1970, and produced The Duped (al-Makhdu‘un, 1972), which had a lasting influence on Syrian cinema during the seventies and eighties.
Print Source:
The General Organization for Cinema, Damascus, Syria
Contact: Mr. Mohammad el-Ahmad (director) or Mr. Raafat Charkas (Festivals)
Tel: +963 11 332 0876/ 332 0892
Fax: +963 11 332 3556
Email: cinema@mail.sy