The President's Cake (2025)

Directed by

Hasan Hadi

Genre

drama film, road movie

Country

Qatar, Iraq, United States

Runtime

1h 45m

Rated

PG-13

Rating

7.5 of 10 from 100 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

During the Gulf War in rural Iraq, a nine-year-old girl named Lamia is picked by her school to bake a cake for Saddam Hussein's birthday. The film follows her and her classmates as they prepare for the task.

child-focusedwar backdropquietly intensepoignantday-to-dayominousintimateunderstated

What happens

The President's Cake (Arabic: مملكة القصب[needs translation]) is a 2025 Arabic-language drama film written and directed by Hasan Hadi. Set in rural Iraq during the Gulf War, it follows the nine-year-old Lamia (Baneen Ahmad Nayyef), who is chosen to bake a cake to celebrate Saddam Hussein's birthday alongside her classmates. The film had its world premiere at the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival on 16 May, where it won the section's Audience Award and the Caméra d'Or. It was selected as the Iraqi entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist. It was released theatrically in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics on 6 February 2026. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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