The poster and trailer have premiered for Hasan Hadi’s award-winning film THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE which has been shortlisted for this year’s Oscars in the Best International Film category. At its world premiere at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival it won the Directors’ Fortnight People’s Choice Audience Award as well as the prestigious Camera d’Or prize for Best First Film. Sony Classics will release the film in theaters starting February 6.
The acclaimed story about 9-year-old Lamia struggling through war and food shortages to prepare a mandatory cake for her school has also just earned a nomination for Best First Feature Film by the Director’s Guild of America. Young actress Baneen Ahmed Nayyef leads an ensemble cast in a remarkable work which has played top festivals around the world including the Toronto International Film Festival and AFI Fest in Los Angeles.
Synopsis: While people across 1990s Iraq struggle to survive the war and food shortages, the President requires each school in the country to prepare a cake to celebrate his birthday. Despite her efforts to avoid getting picked, 9-year-old Lamia is chosen among her classmates. The young girl must now use her wits and imagination to gather ingredients and prepare the mandatory cake in THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE.
Watch the teaser trailer for THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE here:
