NZIFF: My Favourite Cake

A lonely but fiercely determined seventy-year-old widow takes second chance on love in this charming and funny yet politically subversive romance from Iran.

This delicious cinematic confectionery was a huge hit with critics and audiences alike at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival. With great modesty and passion, co-directors Maryam Moghadam and Behtash Sanaeeha strike a tasteful balance between adorable, almost sugary affability and an affecting aftertaste.

The heart of My Favourite Cake is Mahin, a seventy-year-old woman played with irresistible humanity by Lily Farhadpour. Mahin has been living alone in Tehran since her husband passed away and her daughter left for Europe. She takes care of her plants, she goes to the market for grocery shopping, she occasionally takes the side of a girl molested by the morality police for not wearing her hijab properly (a clear reference to the Mahsa Amini case) and she hosts afternoon teas for a group of old friends. After one of these chatty and irreverent congregations, Mahin decides to break her solitary routine and revitalise her love life.

When she opens herself up to romance with a taxi driver, an unpredictable, unforgettable evening unfolds. Then, My Favourite Cake unveils the other side of its coin: through the endearing portrait of a woman who tries a second chance in life and love, Sanaeeha and Moghadam superbly convey a critique to a status quo that gives women no real freedom. It is no surprise that they were denied authorisation to present their film in Berlin. Despite that, My Favourite Cake is now charming and touching audiences all over the world. — Paolo Bertolin

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