The President's Cake

Iraq in the nineties. Nine-year-old Lamia draws the lot at school: making the cake for the celebration of Saddam Hussein's birthday falls to her. In a country under embargo, flour, eggs and sugar are nearly impossible to find, and failing the task will cost her family. Hasan Hadi wrote and directed, drawing the story straight from his own childhood under sanctions in southern Iraq. It was shot entirely in Iraq and became the first Iraqi film accepted into competition at Cannes, where it won the Camera d'Or for best first film across all selections and the Directors' Fortnight audience award. It then went forward as the country's Oscar entry and became the first Iraqi film shortlisted in the international feature category. The film never shows fear directly; the pressure becomes visible through a child's search for baking ingredients. Who it is for: viewers who like political films told from a child's point of view. Who it is not for: anyone expecting direct confrontation; the tension here is built out of kitchen supplies.