New Delhi, Sept. 14 -- I watched the Iraqi film The President's Cake, available on Netflix, at a private screening recently. It became my window into life under a despotic regime I had previously encountered largely through headlines. Set in rural Iraq during the first Gulf War of 1990-91, it follows nine year-old Lamia, tasked with baking a cake for Saddam Hussein's birthday- something she and her granny simply cannot afford. The way Nayyef conveys Lamia's doggedness, dread and despondence through her eyes leaves your heart in a constant state of wreckage. Interestingly, the only critical review I read is by Baghdad-based writer and photographer Nabil Salih. Writing for Jacobin, he argues that the film's focus on the past risks overlooki...