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The President's Cake

Play trailer Poster for The President's Cake 2025 1h 45m Drama History Play Trailer Watchlist
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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.

Critics Reviews

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Peter Howell Toronto Star Luminous lensing helps lift this portrait of desperate lives under a brutal, corrupt regime. Sep 12, 2025 Full Review Tomris Laffly Variety 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. Jun 10, 2025 Full Review Isaac Feldberg RogerEbert.com 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. May 26, 2025 Full Review Dionar Hidalgo Algo Más Que Cine "The President’s Cake" is a moving, lyrical debut. Hasan Hadi turns the absurdity of dictatorship into a tender fable of childhood and survival, blending realism and poetry with unforgettable performances. Rated: 7/10 Oct 23, 2025 Full Review Gary M. Kramer MovieJawn Addressing issues of class, bureaucracy, patriarchy and authoritarianism, Hadi never makes his messages feel heavy-handed. Moreover, The President’s Cake ends with a powerful scene that resonates. Oct 23, 2025 Full Review Daniel Allen Loud and Clear Reviews It is Hadi’s focus on the connections between Lamia and the world around her that define The President’s Cake, and he pulls it off poetically. Rated: 4/5 Oct 20, 2025 Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Hasan Hadi

Director

Baneen Ahmad Nayyef

Actor

Sajad Mohamad Qasem

Actor

Waheed Thabet Khreibat

Actor

Rahim AlHaj

Actor

Hasan Hadi

Screenwriter
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The President's Cake

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Movie Info

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
Production Co
TPC Film
Genre
Drama, History
Original Language
Arabic
Runtime
1h 45m