Iraq 1990. Saddam Hussein is riding the wave of both real and manufactured, popularity. His upcoming birthday, in the way of personality politics, is a day of national festivity, and anyone who does not celebrate faces torture or death. So despite crippling poverty brought on in part by economic sanctions, every Iraqi must join in the birthday party.
Out in the Mesopotamian marshes, nine-year-old orphan Lamia lives with her grandmother Bibi, and her beloved pet rooster, Hindi. As her school prepares for Saddam’s birthday, Lamia is drawn out of the class raffle and tasked with baking the cake. So despite only having an apple for lunch, and little food at home, she must somehow find flour, sugar, eggs, and baking powder, by Saturday, or risk herself and Bibi being punished. She and Bibi (and Hindi!) travel into the city, but after being separated from her grandmother, Lamia finds her best friend from school Saeed, and the two children go on a quest to beg, steal, or borrow, the precious ingredients.
Director Hasan Hadi has previously received recognition for his work on short films. This is his first feature, and he has directed and written a quietly assertive masterpiece.
The President’s Cake was filmed on location in Iraq, and cast mostly from non-professional actors. The central performance by young Baneen Ahmad Nayyef as Lamia is fresh and authentic. So too are those of Waheed Thabet Khreibat as Bibi and Sajad Mohamad Qasem as Saeed. Surrounding them is a cast of incredible characters that they meet as they make their way around the city. Every performance is pitch-perfect. One surprise piece of casting is the postman who gives Bibi and Lamia a lift into the city: this role is taken by American-Iraqi oud-master Rahim AlHaj, who brings an energetic joy to the screen.
Visually the film is stunning: a glorious sunrise over the marshes, with mashhuf canoes drifting between the palms. Suddenly the serenity is shattered by US fighter jets swooping overhead. From its opening scene it is clear that this is not just a movie, but a work of cinema. Hadi and Romanian cinematographer Tudor Vladimir Panduru have worked together to make every shot pull its weight, whether panoramic or intimate. Hadi is not scared of shooting at night, and allowing the dark to speak for itself.
An historical testament, an excoriation of cultish politics, a portrait of resilient childhood, and a love letter to the Iraqi people, The President’s Cake is a near perfect piece of filmmaking which will make you angry, sad, happy, scared, and incredibly grateful that people like Hadi are making films.
Reviewed by Tracey Korsten
Rating 5 out of 5
YouTube trailer: THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE | Official Trailer (2026)
The President’s Cake opens in cinemas on 2 April
Distributor: Rialto Distribution
A moving, surprising, quietly assertive masterpiece.
