The President’s Cake review: a surprisingly sweet depiction of life under an uncaring regime

We know Donald Trump thinks of himself as a cinéaste. His method of repeatedly consuming Jean Claude Van Damme’s gaudy 1988 thump-’em-up Bloodsport by fast-forwarding through the non-fighting scenes – first reported in a 1997 New Yorker profile – has long been viewed as a key to unlocking his scattershot pathology. The current US president also capped off the turbulent year of 2025 by demanding that the Rush Hour franchise be rebooted.

Did fellow controversial head of state Saddam Hussein have a strong opinion on Jackie Chan chalk-and-cheese buddy comedies? We’ll never know. But one unexpected cultural footnote in the late Iraqi president’s bloodthirsty history is that in the early 1980s he viewed cinema as a potentially useful propaganda tool. 

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Oliver Reed was hired to star in Clash of Loyalties, an independent blockbuster funded at the dictator’s behest. This would-be historical epic dramatised the 1920 revolution against UK occupation in Mesopotamia that resulted in the formation of Iraq. Whether the movie was any good or not was rather overshadowed by the Iran-Iraq war and subsequent decades of antagonism between Hussein and the west. 

Vanity feels like a psychological trait shared by every dictator but despite the fact that Hussein – or at least one of his official portraits – looms over almost every scene in The President’s Cake, it is unlikely he would have been a fan of this film. It is set in 1991 in the marshlands south of Baghdad, a time when the US-led Operation Desert Shield was transitioning into the more aggressive Operation Desert Storm. For the local populace that means yet more bombing raids on top of the acute food and medical supply shortages caused by western sanctions.

It is here that young girl Lamia (Baneen Ahmed Nayyef) and her brusque but loving grandmother Bibi (Waheeda Thabet Khreibat) struggle to keep their heads above water amid food scarcity and hyperinflation. It is two days before Hussein’s birthday, a time of enforced national celebration where every school class is expected to make a cake in his honour. This task falls to Lamia after her name is pulled from a lottery draw; her militaristic teacher makes a point of reminding her that failure will mean being brutally dragged in the streets.

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The list of required ingredients – a few eggs, some flour, sugar and baking powder – sounds basic but is far beyond what Lamia can locally source let alone afford. So she, Bibi and their crotchety rooster Hindi hitch to Baghdad to see what they can scrape together. When it emerges that Bibi has a more radical plan to safeguard her granddaughter’s future, a heartbroken Lamia goes on the lam with Hindi, determined to complete her assignment.

Luckily she falls in with her roguish classmate Saeed (Sajad Mohamad Qasem), a pickpocket who sees the busy Baghdad streets as a target-rich environment. The two of them bounce from silly capers to charged confrontations as they beg, barter, plead and pilfer their way through the cake checklist. Despite – or perhaps because of – losing her parents, Lamia burns with a righteous sense of justice that amuses or even inspires the various adults she encounters.

But amid the picaresque feel and occasional flashes of kindness she is shown, there is the looming sense that one misstep down the wrong alley could see the city simply swallow up this little girl and her rooster whole.

That seesawing sensation between uplifting against-the-odds flick and sombre cautionary tale feels of a piece with the uncertainty of life under an uncaring regime. This tightrope of tone management is confidently handled by Iraqi writer-director Hasan Hadi in his debut film. Hadi’s effective use of non-actors and commitment to filming in Iraq adds to a hardscrabble sense of authenticity. 

The President’s Cake arrives in the UK after winning two awards at Cannes and narrowly missing out on an Oscar nomination after making the 15-strong shortlist for Best International Feature, the first Iraqi film to do so. It might seem like yet another subtitled, eat-your-vegetables world cinema effort. But even though it takes place under a shadow of fear it is surprisingly fun, fleet and really rather sweet. 

The President’s Cake is in cinemas from 13 February

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