Happy Birthday (Tribeca 2025) Film Review & Summary

Happy Birthday is a reminder that child actors can excel without high level trauma or being an accessory to an adult’s performance.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on Hours Updated on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“Happy Birthday” Film Details

  • Runtime: 1 Hour(s) and 35 Minutes
  • Seen Via: Film Festival – Tribeca Film Festival | Press Screening or Screener
  • Released On: In Theaters
  • Public Release Date: June 5, 2025 (Get Tickets)
  • Director(s): Sarah Goher
  • Writer(s): Sarah Goher, Mohamed Diab
  • Primary Language: Non-English (Arabic)
  • Genre(s): Drama, Youth
  • Rating: Not Rated

Summary

With her parents on the outs with one another, Nelly fears her 9th birthday party won’t happen. Thankfully, the household maid, a similar-aged Toha, makes every effort she can to make the party happen, alongside Nelly’s grandmother, who wants her daughter, Laila, to reconcile with Asser. However, as the day progresses, Toha is forced to realize that, despite how close she feels to the family, there are boundaries she is expected not to cross, and when she doesn’t catch a hint, she is forced to reckon with a harsh truth.

Cast and Characters

Nelly (Khadija Ahmed)

  • Character Summary: Nelly is an eight-year-old girl who lives in a middle-class home and mostly has no wants beyond her parents getting back together.

Toha (Doha Ramadan)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Eight-year-old Toha is one of at least six siblings, comes from a working-class or low-income household, and is fairly popular back home. Part of the reason is that she is outgoing, one of the most talented when it comes to fishing, and a hustler when it comes to selling the fish. Additionally, while helping Nelly’s grandmother, she works hard and shows herself to be adept. However, it is never forgotten, especially by Laila, that Toha is a child, and the situation is not favorable for discussing in public.

Grandma (Hanan Youssef)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Laila’s mother is someone who mainly focuses on her daughter and Asser getting back together, mainly due to the financial aspect of what would change if they went through with a divorce.

Laila (Nelly Karim)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: A businesswoman struggling to manage the collapse of her marriage, Laila is on edge. This makes her easily agitated and prone to short tempers regarding Nelly. However, between her mother and Toha, they work to soften her a bit so that, between her husband and daughter, they can be reminded of her kinder traits.

Asser (Sherif Salama)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Asser is Laila’s husband, Nelly’s father, who doesn’t communicate with either as much as they would want, especially due to his relationship woes with Laila.

Nadia (Hanan Motawie)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Nadia is Toha’s mother, a widow, raising at least six kids, who is struggling on an income based on selling fish at the local market daily.

What To Expect In “Happy Birthday” (Not Rated) – Content Overview

  • Dialog: Nothing Notable
  • Violence: Nothing Notable
  • Sexual Content: Nothing Notable
  • Miscellaneous: Nothing Notable

Links

Review and Commentary

Highlight(s)

How Invested You Get In Toha’s Story [87/100]

Even before learning of Toha’s home life, from sharing a home with at least five or six siblings, her father being absent, and, at best, coming from a working-class background, you will love Toha. She gives you everything you’d expect from someone starring in a Steve Spielberg or Guillermo del Toro type of film, in this little person who is extroverted, inquisitive, and has figured out a way to maintain some sense of being a child, while knowing she is contributing to her household in a notable way.

But it is when she doesn’t have to be a little adult and make sure Nelly gets up on time for school, which she has seemingly never attended, that you start to emotionally invest in this child. As she seems awestruck by the mall, the concept of blowing out a candle to make a wish, it reminds you of all the beauty there was in experiencing something for the first time, and not being jaded by how accessible everything could be.

Though what may seal the deal is that you see Toha is a hard worker. While not yet in the double digits, she demonstrates herself worthy of all she experiences, and although there is some naivety regarding what she can and cannot ask or do, it is understandable why she is initially forgiven and given grace. However, in the long term, you easily can become worried about all of this being snatched from her, especially as it becomes clear her existence in the house is supposed to be a secret.

The Slow But Steady Realization That You Are An Other [85/100]

With Toha’s mom, Nadia, knowing her daughter is capable of great things, even without the ability to read at her age, you can appreciate her sending her daughter to work under Laila’s roof. However, part of the heartbreak when it comes to Happy Birthday is that it appears Toha wasn’t adequately prepared for what was expected beyond the work.

As anyone with a job knows, it’s often not the labor but the people who make doing anything difficult. Whether it is bosses or co-workers, managing the social dynamics of the job can often be the most taxing. So, in watching Toha learn this, you can feel yourself being reminded of what was presented in the interview, not matching the day-to-day.

For, yes, Toha gets a nice place to sleep, believes she is friends with her boss’ granddaughter, and has it good, but then comes the ego, potentially the legality of her employment, and all the complications that arise from Toha’s naïveté. Which makes it so, she gets that unfortunate “Hit the ground running” or “Trial by Fire” experience where she didn’t get to learn the nice and easy way – she had to learn the hard way.

Mind you, this isn’t to say her mother didn’t try to protect her. However, as a single mom with six kids, the eldest barely a teenager, what capacity does she have to be gentle and soft-spoken? When resources, such as money or time, are in limited supply, how can you find time to focus and refine a kid like Toha?

You can’t, and this means that Toha, while she could be applauded for taking initiative and trying to show herself as grateful and feeling like part of the family, she has to be reminded she is not when she oversteps. And the results of these lessons, when she can’t easily access the compound Laila lives in or realizes she might be a child, but she isn’t seen as a child of Laila’s community, may hurt your feelings just as much as Toha’s.

The Black And White World Toha Lives In – Which Doesn’t Necessarily Damn Or Uplift Either Side [83/100]

It is a stark contrast between the world Laila lives in and the one Nadia works and lives in. Laila lives in a gated community, where tok-toks can’t enter, and it appears only the fairest can traverse without being questioned. Meanwhile, Nadia’s world is filled with dilapidated buildings, smog, a lack of trees, murky water, and even in the case of her home, washing is done with bottles or hoses.

Yet, despite the stark contrast, through Toha’s eyes, both seem normal. It’s all just different ways to live, and while she may like some of the things the suburbs have, she still enjoys fishing by hand in the murky water, skipping rocks, and surprisingly never looks down on where she came from. Are there things the rich do, like birthday parties, with cakes that have candles you can make wishes on, that she wishes were normal in her community? Yes. But it is truly beautiful to see a young person like Toha never turn her nose up just because she has had a taste of what the other side lives like. It reminds you how, even at a young age, people can love and appreciate where they come from and, sometimes, want to bring back things from their travels, rather than abandoning what was their home altogether. If not disown it due to the negative connotation it has in the outside world.

Overall

Our Rating (85/100): Positive (Worth Seeing) – Recommended

Happy Birthday delivers one of the best child performances we’ve seen in years, anchored by Doha Ramadan’s remarkable ability to bring us directly into Toha’s world. Through Toha’s eyes, we experience a blend of awe and wonder — as if we were watching a sci-fi story. Yet, despite the beauty presented through Toha’s lens, the film also explores the painful reality of having a taste of a better life yet feeling unwelcome in it, adding a deep, universal layer to Toha’s journey.

But as much as Toha may face rejection from the upper class, she never disregards where she came from — and the desire to bring back what makes Laila’s world beautiful, rather than want to abandon her own, makes her all the more lovable. And overall, Happy Birthday feels like a standout at film festivals like Tribeca. Not only does it offer a fresh perspective, but it also lacks familiar faces and narratives, making it like a mental and emotional palate cleanse. One that makes you appreciate what you’ve seen and loved all the more, and remain curious about what’s out there, which may not get the marketing it deserves.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been reviewing media since 2010. He approaches each production with hope, rooting for every story to succeed, and believes criticism should come from unmet potential, while praise is reserved for work that meets or exceeds expectations.