The President's Cake begins with a shocking fact: despite widespread poverty and food shortages caused by UN-backed sanctions, Saddam Hussein demanded that the entire Iraqi people celebrate his birthday. Such narcissism is enough to leave you speechless. Screenwriter and director Hasan Hadi uses it as the foundation for a story brimming with emotion and political relevance.
Lamia (Beneen Ahmed Nayyef) is a nine-year-old girl who lives with her elderly grandmother. At school, she is chosen to bake the class cake for Hussein's birthday. This presents a problem, as it requires eggs, flour, and sugar—supplies that are hard to come by, and even harder to come by when you don't have any money. Lamia sneaks into town with her friend, the sticky-finger Saeed, to beg, borrow, or steal the necessary supplies. The process proves more difficult than anticipated.
Director: Hasan Hadi
Writer: Hasan Hadi
Stars: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
What happens on the surface in The President's Cake is simple: the underlying dynamics are more complex. At her tender age, Lamia faces unfathomable pressure, aware that people have suffered consequences for not acknowledging the occasion sufficiently. The added pressure comes from her teacher, who demands that the cake "taste good," as well as from her desire not to disappoint her class. Constantly seeing posters, banners, and other forms of celebration of Hussein only increases the stress. As the day progresses, her methods become more desperate.
Hadi's story is intimate, and it uses Lamia's experience to suggest how children can be directly affected by politics, despite being too young to vote or even understand it. Why does she have to bake a cake that Hussein will never eat? Lamia doesn't know; she simply recognizes that there will be consequences if she doesn't. Although the film is set in Iraq, it makes us reflect on how children everywhere struggle to understand confusing political realities.
Beneen Ahmed Nayyef is absolutely outstanding in the lead role. Her performance is incredibly authentic, yet completely natural, to the point that we feel as if we're watching a real girl in a real-life situation, rather than an actress performing a script. I don't know where Hadi found her (she has no other acting credits) or how she managed to get her to stray from the path, but it's astonishing how she commands the film.
The President's Cake is beautifully photographed and meticulously edited, so we're immersed in the story without any distractions reminding us that we're watching fiction. These qualities contribute to its poignant nature, as do the intermittent flashes of warm humor. This is a very special film that you won't easily forget.
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