The Presidents Cake

Iraq in the 1990s: Every year, schools hold a lottery to decide who will bake a birthday cake in honour of President Saddam Hussein. This time, the task falls to nine-year-old Lamia. She lives with her grandmother in the Mesopotamian marshes and they have very little money. On her way to the nearest town, her friend Saeed helps her get the necessary baking ingredients. But the two have to be as inventive as they are determined. Economic sanctions have led to food shortages, and poverty does not exactly bring out the best in people. Hasan Hadi's feature film debut, based on a childhood memory, won the Audience Award at the Cannes Film Festival's Quinzaine des cinéastes and the Camera d'Or. ‘The President's Cake’ is Iraq's Oscar entry. A touching adventure story that repeatedly breaks through the depiction of oppressive autocracy with moments of lightness.