Ⓒ Joud Toamah
The Dupes (Al-Makhdūʿūn), directed by Tewfik Saleh, is a 1972 masterpiece restored in 2023 by the World Cinema Project of The Film Foundation. This politically charged adaptation of Men in the Sun (1963), a novel by renowned Palestinian writer and resistance leader Ghassan Kanafani, recounts a harrowing tale of exile, displacement, and betrayal.
Set in 1950s Iraq, the film follows three Palestinian refugees of different generations as they attempt to cross into Kuwait, the so-called “Promised Land.” Concealed in the steel tank of a smuggler’s truck, the men cling to fragile hope, but their journey lays bare the brutal realities of dispossession and systemic injustice.
The film’s critical lens on Arab leadership led to censorship and boycotts, yet its unyielding message continues to resonate today. As conflicts persist and the Palestinian cause remains urgent, The Dupes is more relevant than ever. The film reminds us of the enduring struggle of displaced peoples, the failure of solidarity, and the human cost of political betrayal.
The screening will be followed by a discussion with artist Reem Shilleh and researcher Brigitte Herremans (Ghent University), moderated by Wouter Hessels (Film historian RITCS).
19:00 Introduction by Iman Lechkar (Chairholder VUB Fatima Mernissi Chair)
19:15 Screening The Dupes
21:10 - 21:40 Discussion with artist Reem Shilleh and researcher Brigitte Herremans, moderated by film historian Wouter Hessels
Tickets are available online through the Cinema RITCS website for € 8, with a discounted rate of € 4 for students and € 6 for RITCS staff, RITCS alumni, job seekers, and seniors (65+). Cineville ticket holders can attend for free but must still reserve a ticket.
Brigitte Herremans is a postdoctoral researcher at the Human Rights Centre of Ghent University and a guest lecturer in Middle Eastern studies at the University of Antwerp. Her research focuses on human rights in Syria and Palestine, and the potential of art to make injustice visible. From 2002 to 2018, Brigitte worked as a Middle East policy officer at Broederlijk Delen and Pax Christi Vlaanderen. In 2016, she co-authored the book Israël en Palestina. De kaarten op tafel. [Israel and Palestine. The Cards on the Table] with Ludo Abicht. From 2017 to 2018, she worked as a Middle East and North Africa policy officer at BOZAR. Brigitte studied Eastern Languages and Cultures (Arabic and Biblical Hebrew) at Ghent University and International Politics at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. She also studied in Jerusalem and Cairo.
A researcher, curator, editor and artist, Reem Shilleh’s practice is informed by a long research project on militant and revolutionary image practices in Palestine, its diaspora and its solidarity network.
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Wouter Hessels studied Romance languages & literatures, philosophy, and audiovisual arts & drama in Antwerp and Brussels. Since 1995, he has been teaching film and media history at RITCS in Brussels, film analysis at INSAS, and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. He has been a visiting professor at institutions in Estonia, Paris, Rome, London, Berlin, and more, and was a visiting professor at ULB (2020-2022).
From 2011-2012, he served as director and curator of the Royal Belgian Film Archive (Cinematek) and is currently a film curator for Gaasbeek Castle, the House of European History, and Cinema RITCS. Hessels also writes essays and poetry in multiple languages.
In 2024-2025, he is a visiting professor at the Civica Scuola di Cinema in Milan and Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. His motto is “Long live love, friendship, and all the arts.”
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