The President's Cake

Debut director Hasan Hadi tells the story of Lamia (Baneen Ahmad Nayyef) who is charged with creating a cake for president Saddam Hussein in 1990s Iraq. With sanctions in place but failure not an option, she begins a journey from her home in the marshes to the city. Aided by her cockerel Hindi, she must be resourceful to find the simple ingredients, met with kindness and cruelty in equal measure.

Since its Cannes debut, The President’s Cake has been winning hearts, including being selected for the Best International Oscar shortlist. Lamia’s journey is an odyssey through Iraq under dictatorship, though it is also an honest depiction of the world of a nine-year-old. Each tortuous step to find the next ingredient is as nail-biting as any thriller, but you will leave with much more to chew over.