Against Saddam Hussein's regime in 1990s Iraq, in the wake of Kuwait's invasion and the Western sanctions that followed, the film follows a young girl who must navigate a world of scarcity and fear. Nine-year-old Lamia is forced to gather flour, eggs, and sugar to bake a cake for the president's birthday, a demand that underscores the harsh realities of poverty she endures in the Mesopotamian Marshes. The setting is harsh and intimate: groceries are expensive, stores sit half-empty, and every small necessity feels like a prize won through grit rather than luck.
Lamia lives with her grandmother, Bibi, and their faithful cockerel, Hindi, in a fragile family routine that the external pressures strain to the breaking point. Bibi, though loving, is old and sick, which pushes Lamia to take risks to keep their small household afloat. When Bibi arranges for Lamia to meet a woman who might become her foster mother, the girl is dispatched on a taxi ride that marks the beginning of a long, winding search for safety and stability.
The journey intensifies as Lamia, together with her friend Saeed, moves from the marshes toward the city in a bid to source the needed ingredients. To raise cash for the purchase, Lamia even cracks open a difficult choice, taking her father’s watch to sell in order to buy what they need. Their trek is fraught with peril and moral ambiguity; almost everyone they encounter in the city seems hardened by hardship, exploiting opportunities or simply looking the other way when trouble looms. The pair must rely on quick wits and occasional acts of courage to stay ahead in a world where kindness is scarce and danger is common.
As the search grows riskier, the threads of threat close in from multiple directions. The taxi driver who once helped Lamia’s grandmother, Jasim, resurfaces and joins the effort to find the girl, drawn back into the chase amid a city that is indifferent to justice. The police, preoccupied with grandiose celebrations and the spectacle of the president’s birthday, offer little assurance or assistance, leaving Lamia and Saeed to improvise their way through a landscape where authority feels distant and unreliable.
The film builds a quiet, unflinching portrait of resilience in the face of systemic hardship. It is a story about a child’s ingenuity and bond with a loyal friend as they navigate hunger, danger, and the moral labyrinth of survival under oppressive conditions. Throughout, the tone remains steady and restrained, inviting viewers to witness how ordinary courage can emerge in the most trying circumstances. The world the story portrays is harsh, but it is also intimate and deeply human, highlighting moments of tenderness amid struggle and the enduring hope that small acts of courage can illuminate even the darkest days.
