Doha Ramadan, drama, film festivals, Hanan Motawie, Hanan Youssef, Happy Birthday, Hazem Ehab, Jomana Ibrahim, Khadija Ahmed, movies, Nelly Karim, reviews, Sarah Goher, Sherif Salama, Tribeca Festival, Tribeca Film Festival
June 15, 2025
by Carla Hay
“Happy Birthday” (2025)
Directed by Sarah Goher
Arabic with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in an unnamed city in Egypt, the dramatic film “Happy Birthday” features an Egyptian cast of characters representing the working-class, middle-class and wealthy.
Culture Clash: An 8-year-old girl, who has been illegally hired as a maid for a wealthy family, faces various obstacles when she wants to attend the birthday party of her employer’s daughter, who will turn 9 years old on this birthday.
Culture Audience: “Happy Birthday” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching well-acted portrayals of how classism affects children.
“Happy Birthday” is a superbly acted portrayal of the harsh realities of classism, poverty and child worker exploitation experienced by a vibrant 8-year-old girl. Doha Ramadan gives an unforgettable performance in this impactful drama. It’s one of the best child actor performances you could see in a movie this year.
Directed by Sarah Goher (who co-wrote the “Happy Birthday” screenplay with Mohamed Diab), “Happy Birthday” is Goher’s feature-film directorial debut. “Happy Birthday” had its world premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival, where it won three prizes: Best International Narrative Feature; Best Screenplay in an International Narrative Feature; and the Nora Ephron Award, a prize given to a female writer or director “whose work embodies the spirit and vision of the late filmmaker and writer Nora Ephron,” according to a Tribeca Festival description.
In “Happy Birthday” (which takes place in an unnamed city in Egypt), 8-year-old Toha (played by Ramadan), whose full name is Taheya, works illegally as a live-in maid for a wealthy family where the spouses are separated and headed for divorce. The movie (which takes place over a 24-hour-period) doesn’t announce right away that Toha is a maid because the first few scenes of “Happy Birthday” make it look like Toha could be a foster child who is being raised like a sister to the family’s only daughter Nelly (played by Khadija Ahmed), who turns 9 years old on this day.
The opening scene shows Toha being woken up that morning by Nelly because Nelly is excited that it’s Nelly’s birthday. The two girls play dress-up and do some arts and crafts, as Toha helps Nelly get ready for the birthday party that’s been planned for Nelly that evening. Nelly, who is fun-loving and a little spoiled, has become accustomed to having a big birthday party every year.
Toha, who has been living with Nelly for an unspecified period of time (definitely less than a year), is looking forward to being at this party. Where are Toha’s parents? And why was Toha sold into this illegal form of employment? Those questions are answered in the movie.
Toha is a spirited and occasionally mischievous child, but she is not as image-conscious as Nelly is. A difference between the two girls is shown in the movie’s opening scene, when Nelly tries on her party dress and asks Toha if Toha thinks anyone will notice that Nelly will be wearing a dress that she’s worn before. Toha cheerfully tells her that no one will notice.
This is the first year that Nelly is having a birthday party since Nelly’s parents separated. Nelly currently lives with her mother Laila (played by Nelly Karim) and Laila’s mother Teta (played by Hanan Youssef), who have no qualms about exploiting Toha for illegal child labor. The first indications that Toha isn’t a foster child or a regular house guest are when Teta orders Toha to give Teta’s diabetic supplies to Teta, and when Toha is seen doing some of the cleaning in the house.
The reasons why Laila and her estranged husband Asser (played by Sherif Salama) have split up aren’t made explicitly clear in the movie, but it’s hinted that he cheated on Laila. It’s obvious that Laila broke up with him, and she’s not interested in a reconciliation, because she says so multiple times in the movie. Teta hopes that Laila (who is a homemaker) and Asser (whose occupation is not stated in the movie) will get back together.
When Asser’s name is mentioned, Toha chirps that a neighbor puts a spell on men who cheat on their wives. Teta scolds Toha to just follow orders and to not comment on what’s happening in the household. Teta says that Toha should just keep quiet and observe, like someone watches a movie. Toha replies that when she watches a movie, she likes to dance along to what the actors are doing.
Nelly adores her father Asser, who seems to be somewhat emotionally neglectful, but Nelly overlooks or doesn’t want to acknowledge his flaws. Laila is upset that Asser hasn’t called Nelly by the middle of the day to wish Nelly a happy birthday. Laila is reluctant to call Asser, but Teta pressures Laila to call Asser to remind him that it’s Nelly’s birthday.
This marital separation has taken a financial toll on Laila. She has decided to move her family to a new place. The house is filled with boxes that are already packed for this relocation.
Laila has tried to shield Nelly from all of these problems, but on this birthday, Laila has a secret that she can no longer hide: She tells Nelly that the birthday party is going to be canceled because they will be too busy moving. Nelly gets very upset by this news.
However, Laila changes her mind about canceling Nelly’s birthday party because Laila tells Teta that she doesn’t want Asser to think that Laila can no longer afford to give Nelly the type of birthday party that Nelly has always had. And so, Laila, Toha and Teta unpack many of the boxes and decorate the house to get it ready for the party. Laila also takes Toha with her to go shopping for some more decorations and other things for the party.
Toha is a resourceful child who thinks quickly. When she and Laila go to a bakery, Laila asks the employee who’s behind the counter (played by Hazem Ehab) if she can buy a custom-made cake with Nelly’s photo on it because they need the cake for a party that night. The bakery employee says he would need at least one week’s advance notice for this type of cake. He advises Laila to look at other cakes that they have on display that can be purchased immediately.
When Laila is out of hearing range, Toha lies to the bakery employee by telling him that Nelly is terminally ill and this might be Nelly’s last birthday. Toha says that Laila doesn’t like to talk about Nelly’s “illness.” The bakery employee hears this sob story and changes his mind. He says to Laila that he can have the custom-made cake ready in time for the party and asks her to email Nelly’s photo to him.
Toha doesn’t know it yet but that Laila is also planning to terminate Toha’s employment and send Toha back to her family’s home before the party happens that night. It’s not just because Laila’s financial budget has changed. The bigger reason is that Laila doesn’t want “lower-class” Toha to be seen at the party. Teta knows about this plan and agrees that Toha needs to be out of their lives.
The movie shows what happens when Toha’s teenage sister Fatma (played by Jomana Ibrahim) arrives and takes Toha back to live with their family. Their widowed mother Nadia (played by Hanan Motawie) is living in poverty with Toha’s five underage siblings (one who is an infant) and makes money by catching and selling fish. Toha’s family is so poor, they live in an encampment with no indoor plumbing.
Nadia is overwhelmed with the responsibilities of supporting several children and expects Toha to immediately start working with her for fishing duties. However, Toha is determined to go to Nelly’s birthday party that evening because Toha thinks she’s still invited. Nadia tells Toha that she can’t go the party and warns her that Toha won’t be welcome there. Toha has other ideas.
It becomes Toha’s entire goal for the day to go to this party not just because she wants to have fun or because she wants to see her friend Nelly again. It’s also because Toha instinctively feels that this party is a test to prove her self-worth. Toha wants to prove to herself that she wasn’t a disposable employee to Nelly’s family, even though certain adults treat Toha as disposable.
Goher’s direction of “Happy Birthday” skillfully mixes the whimsical tone of a child’s perspective with the realistic tone of adult problems. Toha is aware that she comes from a poor family, but she finds pleasure in little things, such as escaping into an empty swimming pool, lying on back and drifting in her own fantasies, maybe that she’s swimming freely in an ocean. Toha is at an age where she knows about social class prejudice but she thinks her friendship with Nelly is an example of how this prejudice doesn’t apply to all relationships.
Although all of the cast members do well in their roles, “Happy Birthday” would not be as special without Ramadan’s terrific performance, because Toha is the heart and soul of the movie. Toha embraces joy wherever she can find it. But even she cannot escape the deterioration of childhood innocence when she sees how some people use social classes and elitism as ways to divide and degrade others.