The President's Cake

While the inhabitants of Iraq in the 90s try to survive amidst the war and food shortages, Saddam Hoessein demands that every school in the country bake a cake to celebrate his birthday. 9-year-old Lamia is tasked with bringing a cake to school for the president's mandatory birthday celebration. Against the background of crippling poverty and food shortages, she travels from the countryside to the city, anxiously searching for the necessary ingredients. “A more brave, resourceful, resilient heroine you are not going to encounter this month. ‘With a measured dose of sugar, humor, and delicate film poetry, he finds a balance between the grim reality and an initiation fairy tale that darts nimbly past every form of miserabilism.” ★★★★ - in Focus Knack ‘Hadi succeeds wonderfully in being playful and at the same time sketching a razor-sharp portrait of a civilization in full crisis between the lines.’ - in De Tijd ‘A film that does not shy away from tragedy but for the most part wraps it in refreshing resilience and dark humor.’ - in De Morgen ‘Regisseur Hasan Hadi conjures one colorful figure and original location after another out of his hat.’ ★★★ - in De Standaard