The President's Cake (12)

From debut Iraqi director Hasan Hadi, The President’s Cake is a beautiful tale of love, friendship and resilience told from the perspective of a child growing up under Saddam Hussein’s oppressive regime.  Set during the first Gulf War, Lamia, a young girl from Iraq’s Mesopotamian Marshes, lives with her grandmother Bibi and her pet cockerel Hindi in a community struggling to get by under the harsh conditions of a country suffering under sanctions and at war. But under Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, nothing will stop his mandatory birthday celebrations, including choosing a child from each school class across the land to bake a cake in his honour. Despite Lamia’s best efforts to avoid it, knowing how difficult it will be to source the ingredients, she is picked among her peers to produce the cake, which she must do, or face the consequences.

Blending warmth, tension and moments of unexpected humour, Hadi crafts a vivid coming-of-age story that captures both the resilience of childhood and the quiet absurdity of life under dictatorship.

Tender, visually striking and deeply human, THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE is an unforgettable big-screen experience and a powerful reminder of hope and courage in the face of adversity.

.Hasan Hadi's critically lauded drama was Iraq's submission for Best International Feature at the Oscars,