Perhaps the most surprising thing about today’s world premiere of The President’s Cake in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival is that it isn’t in the main Competition at the Grand Lumiere. It is head and shoulders above some of those films I have seen there, but no matter how you find it, this is a true gem and a real discovery from Hasan Hadi. With the right distributor, it could turn out to be Iraq’s first nominee for an Oscar. Yes, it is that good, and coming from a country that barely has movie theaters or any history of cinema, that is saying a lot. This is the first major film from Iraq ever to play in Cannes.
Set in 1990s Iraq as dictator Saddam Hussein ruled the land, this is a slice of life actually shot in the country and a peek at what life was like then. Hadi grew up there during wartime, and this rather enchanting story is based on his memories of an actual event where schoolchildren have what is called a “draw day” and one member of each class is chosen to bake a birthday cake for Hussein. The President’s Cake centers on 9-year-old Lamia (Banin Ahmad Nayef), who lives in the Mesopotamian marshes with her very independent grandmother, Bibi (Waheed Thabet Khreibat), who has tutored Lamia in how not to be selected. But Lamia somehow becomes the chosen one anyway and, of course, can not refuse the honor.
She and Bibi then go about preparing a list of ingredients needed, even though at this time there is a terrible food shortage in the country, and sugar is almost non-existent in Lamia’s part of the land. So, with pet rooster Hindi in tow, they journey to the big city, where Lamia also hopes to visit the amusement park. The surprise, though, is Bibi, getting on in years and no longer able to support her granddaughter, uses the trip to essentially give Lamia away. Once the girl gets wind of this, she runs away and is off on an adventure that will change her life, and Hindi’s too.
Now the subject of a search by authorities and the only distant relatives she has, Lamia finds herself joined by classmate Saeed (Sajad Mohamad Qasem) as she tries valiantly to evade her pursuers, somehow get those cake ingredients and hit the amusement park — all the while with Hindi tucked in her front pocket. Much happens along the way, both sadness and success, as Hadi’s film takes us on an adventure Lamia — or we — won’t forget, but also one that ultimately does not erase the realities of being a country at war and under severe sanctions from the United States as a retaliation for 9/11, which the Bush administration tried to blame on Iraq. Although this is a small film with its focus on humanity within the country, it takes on extra relevance in showing life under an autocracy where the leader expects complete allegiance at all times, even down to his birthday cakes. With no spoiler intended, I can only say the film’s final images have haunted me for weeks since seeing this masterful debut.
Young Nayef, tasked with being on camera for nearly the entire movie, is a true find and holds us in her grasp all the way. She is the beating heart of this film, and viewers will not forget her any time soon. Qasem also is enormously effective, as is the casting of the other roles including veteran Khreibat. Hindi is one of the screen’s great roosters.
For a first film, this one is quite accomplished across the board but especially with the superb cinematography from Tudor Vladimir Panduru.
Hadi, among other things, is a 2022 Sundance Lab Fellow and recipient of the 2022 Sundance/NHK Award, SFFILM Rainin Grant and Doha Film Institute grant for this feature debut. He has a promising future. Don’t miss this one.
Producer is Leah Chen Baker. Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) and filmmaker Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) are executive producers in a supportive move to give this worthy film a higher profile.
Title: The President’s Cake
Festival: Cannes (Directors’ Fortnight)
Sales agents: UTA/WME (North America); Films Boutique (International)
Director-screenwriter: Hasan Hadi
Cast: Banin Ahmad Nayef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Rahim Alhaj
Running time: 1 hr 42 min
Content shared from deadline.com.