THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE
While people across 1990’s Iraq struggle to survive, 9-year old Lamia has been selected to prepare a cake to celebrate the President’s birthday. In a landscape of fear and scarcity, Lamia sets out on a determined journey throughout the big city in search of eggs, flour, and sugar.
SHOWTIMES
APR 3 | FRI
5:10, 7:25 p.m.Â
APR 4 | SAT
12:40, 2:55, 5:10, 7:25 p.m.Â
APR 5 | SUN
5:10, 7:25 p.m.Â
APR 6 | MON
5:10, 7:25 p.m.Â
APR 7 | TUE
5:10, 7:25 p.m.
APR 8 | WED
5:10, 7:25 p.m.
APR 9 | THU
5:10, 7:25 p.m.
SYNOPSIS
While people across 1990’s Iraq struggle to survive, 9-year old Lamia has been selected to prepare a cake to celebrate the President’s birthday. In a landscape of fear and scarcity, where basic ingredients are nearly impossible to find, Lamia sets out on a determined journey throughout the big city in search of eggs, flour, and sugar. Accompanied by her grandmother, her loyal friend Saeed, and her pet rooster Hindi, she navigates vendors and police officers along the way.
The President’s Cake, Winner of the Camera D’Or and Audience Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, and the Official Iraq Entry for the Best International Film Academy Award 2025, embodies innocence, imagination, and inner strength.
Director
WITH
Run Time
1 hour, 45 minutes
Released
2025
Distributed by
Sony Classics
HEARING AND VISUAL ASSISTANCE
Assisted Listening
Subtitled / Open Captions
Country
LANGUAGE
Arabic with English Subtitles
RATED PG-13
for strong language, some suggestive material and smoking
REVIEWS
“Shot entirely in the director’s home country with a largely amateur, untrained cast, the film blends a striking sense of street-level realism, political commentary and poetic nostalgia for the naive innocence of youth.”
“While The President’s Cake mostly plays like a genial fairy tale, with superbly balanced humor and drama, Hadi is still unsparing about the ills of patriarchal society. It is a compassionate and winsome debut, packed with an unassuming punch.”
“This detail-rich and tremendously moving moral fable uncovers harsh realities in Iraqi society without departing from the earnest perspective of its knee-high protagonist, and without diminishing the dignity or value of her hopes and dreams.”