The President's Cake

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The President's Cake

PG-13

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1h 45m

Drama

History

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54 Reviews

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Fewer than 50 Ratings

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.

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Critics Consensus

A tenderly crafted, often devastating portrait of childhood in rural Iraq, The President's Cake vividly brings to life its morally complex world through richly drawn characters and intimate storytelling.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

3d

4/5

It’s a testament to Nayyef’s ingenuous performance and the mesmerising sense of place that the film is always compelling and sometimes bleakly funny, although there are no happy endings.

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Danny Leigh

Financial Times

4d

4/5

At times, the mood is almost larky. (Lamia travels with her cockerel, Hindi, a star.). But the small, grave face of Nayyef — who has never acted before, and gives a great performance — provides the soul of the film.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

5d

4/5

There’s a terrific charm and sweetness in this debut from Iraqi film-maker Hasan Hadi.

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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

13h

The riveting drama The President's Cake takes an unforgettable journey through Baghdad in 1990. In a politically oppressed society, a 9-year-old girl is under deadline pressure to present a cake at her school to celebrate Saddam Hussein's birthday.

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

2d

The President’s Cake may remind one of A Serious Man in which the protagonist is almost in an existential siege. For Hadi, he lets Lamia and the audience begin to relax though still forever changed before he lets the other shoe drop.

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Daniel Barnes

Dare Daniel

3d

3.5/5

Despite some truly disturbing scenes and quietly haunting images, director Hasan Hadi maintains a relatively light touch, letting the disturbing moments of everyday life under a brutal dictatorship speak for themselves.

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Sir G

@Robert11 1d

Very strong movie which gives one a good feel for how fragile and difficult life was under Saddam Hussein in Iraq. Well paced film, which brought together a number of different threads very well at the end. Baneen Nayyef also performed very well, no mean feat given how young she is and how big her role was. All round, a very well directed, produced and acted film, which went very quickly. I thoroughly recommend this film, although it is not always an easy watch.

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Marc S

3d

An effective movie led by a star-turn performance by a child actress. It’s sad and hard to watch at tomes but a work so wonderful that you love the humanity of the main characters. A great insight into the day-to-day life in Iraq.

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Reidy F

@Reidy 3d

Excellent recreation of a child's life as a marsh Arab under Saddam Hussein's regime. Lots of lovely moments but ultimately tragic depiction of the effect of the regime on ordinary people.

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Roy J

Feb 9

Makes you rethink about America's economic sanctions. These sanctions have no impact on the evil dictators, but are actually harming the people that are already opressed

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Hasan Hadi

Director

Baneen Ahmad Nayyef

Lamia

Sajad Mohamad Qasem

Saeed

Waheed Thabet Khreibat

Bibi

Rahim AlHaj

Jasim

Hasan Hadi

Screenwriter

The President's Cake: Teaser Trailer

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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.

Director: Hasan Hadi
Producer: Leah Chen Baker
Screenwriter: Hasan Hadi, Eric Roth
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: TPC Film
Rating: PG-13 (Strong Language|Some Suggestive Material|Smoking)
Genre: Drama, History
Original Language: Arabic
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 6, 2026, Limited
Box Office (Gross USA): $9.9K
Runtime: 1h 45m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)