DHAHRAN: You know a film is special when it simultaneously elicits sobs and laughter from an audience. Iraqi filmmaker Hasan Hadi’s debut feature “The President’s Cake,” which screened at last week’s Saudi Film Festival, is special.
It’s set in the Iraq in which Hadi grew up under the tyranny of former President Saddam Hussein’s regime. More than three decades on, the director has intricately crafted a film documenting the price — both emotional and practical — paid by the Iraqi people during and after the first Gulf War.
Nine-year-old orphan Lamia (a breakout performance by newcomer Baneen Ahmed Nayyef) lives with her grandmother Bibi (Waheed Thabet Khreibat) and her pet cockerel Hindi in the countryside. Money is scarce.
Lamia’s third-grade teacher announces that, ahead of the president’s upcoming birthday, students will have their names drawn at random (although odds are stacked against those the teacher doesn’t like) to decide who will have the ‘honor’ of either cleaning the school, bringing fresh fruit, providing juice, or — most prestigious of all — baking a cake for the celebration.
Even the nine-year-olds know that the unspoken consequences of failure — the risk of being written up and reported — would be catastrophic for their entire family. So when Lamia is selected as baker, even though the necessary ingredients are not easily available or affordable, she has no choice but to comply.
Lamia, Bibi, and Hindi embark on a quest to the nearest city to secure supplies. But, feeling betrayed by Bibi, Lamia runs away and determines to carry out her task alone. Fortunately, she soon meets up with her friend Saeed, who was selected to supply the fruit, and the pair resolve to get what they need together (with Hindi).
That means navigating an unfamiliar and dangerous path, overlooked by Saddam’s ubiquitous portraits, his eyes seemingly watching their every move. Encountering both the kindness and cruelty of strangers, their sense of duty takes precedence over their innocence and fear.
Visually, “The President’s Cake” is stunning — memorable scenes include Lamia quietly rowing her boat over serene waters as missiles crackle overhead — and strong performances, particularly from Nayyef and Khreibat, ensure it’s also convincing.
The film concludes with footage of Saddam’s actual 50th birthday cake, a grotesquely lavish affair enjoyed while his citizens were literally starving. It’s a sobering end to Hadi’s poetic, haunting masterpiece.
