Films

Official Oscar© Selection—Iraq
Camera d’Or Award and Director’s Fortnight Audience Award, Cannes Film Festival

Director Hasan Hadi’s The President’s Cake made history earlier this year as the first-ever Iraqi film in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.

It’s “draw day” in 1990s Iraq, and 9-year-old Lamia has been chosen to bake a cake for her school’s celebration of President Saddam Hussein’s birthday. Despite being part of one of the many families struggling to survive off limited resources under UN-imposed sanctions, she scrambles to find the ingredients for the lavish dessert. Accompanied by her lively grandmother and best friend, Lamia journeys through the Mesopotamian marshes to try and complete the imperative and near impossible task (one she dare not fail).

What unfolds is a a lovingly rendered coming of age tale that doubles as a critique of the pageantry of authoritarian rule. Emotional, frequently humorous, and compassionately detailed, the film features an impressive cast of mostly untrained actors who breath organic life into this upside-down fairytale.