The President’s Cake

Open Caption screenings:
Thursday, February 26 at 12:15pm in Screen 4
Friday, February 27 at 12:00pm in Screen 3
Monday, March 2 at 12:00pm in Screen 3
Wednesday, March 4 at 12:30pm in Screen 4
These screenings will be presented with on screen subtitling and sound descriptions.

Official 2026 Oscar Selection from Iraq

WINNER! Camera d’Or Award and Director’s Fortnight Audience Award, 2025 Cannes Film Festival

It’s “draw day” in 1990s Iraq, and 9-year-old Lamia has been chosen to bake a cake for her school’s celebration of President Saddam Hussein’s birthday. Despite being part of one of the many families struggling to survive off limited resources under UN-imposed sanctions, she scrambles to find the ingredients for the lavish dessert. Accompanied by her lively grandmother and best friend (plus her pet rooster, Hindi) Lamia journeys from her quiet home in the remote Mesopotamian marshes to the bustling city to source the elusive ingredients and complete the near impossible task (one she dare not fail). What unfolds is a lovingly rendered coming of age tale that doubles as a critique of the pageantry of authoritarian rule. Emotional, frequently humorous, and compassionately detailed, The President’s Cake features an impressive cast of mostly untrained actors who breath organic life into this upside-down fairytale. Writer/director Hasan Hadi uses his own youth as the springboard for his acclaimed, big-hearted debut feature, the first-ever Iraqi feature to play in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won the prestigious Camera D’Or. (Dir. Hasan Hadi, 2025, Iraq/Qatar/USA, in Arabic with English subtitles, 102 mins., Not Rated)