Director: Hasan Hadi. Iraq / Qatar / USA 2025, 105 mins, 12. Content advice
‘This detail-rich and tremendously moving moral fable uncovers harsh realities in Iraqi society without departing from the earnest perspective of it’s knee-high protagonist and without diminishing the dignity or value of her hopes and dreams.’, RogerEbert.com
Set in Iraq in the early 1990s, The President’s Cake is the story of a nine year old girl, Lamia, who lives in poverty with her grandmother, Bibi. Celebrating Saddam Hussein’s birthday is mandatory and Lamia is chosen by her school to make a special birthday cake for the occasion. So Bibi, Lamia and her pet cockerel set out on a desperate and hazardous journey to a nearby city to find the scarce and precious ingredients.
‘While The President’s Cake mostly plays like a genial fairytale, with superbly balanced humour and drama, Hadi is still unsparing about the ills of a patriarchal society. It is a compassionate and winsome debut, packed with an unassuming punch.’, Variety