While people across 1990s Iraq struggle to survive the war and food shortages, President Saddam Hussein 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, and must use her wits and imagination to gather the scarcely-available ingredients in this directorial debut that earned the 2025 Caméra d’Or, at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
The President's Cake
There are no showtimes currently scheduled for this film.
Legend
OCOpen Captioned
Special Content
35mm
SFSensory Friendly
Cinema Studies
Contemporary Arab Cinema is co-presented with the Brooklyn Academy of Music and:
This series is made possible through the support of:
The President's Cake
Pre-recorded introduction from director Hasan Hadi
Tickets: $11 (members), $16 (nonmembers)
"Shot entirely in the director’s home country with a largely amateur, untrained cast, the film blends a striking sense of street-level realism, political commentary and poetic nostalgia for the naive innocence of youth."
This film is part of the Contemporary Arab Cinema series.
Contemporary Arab Cinema is co-presented with the Brooklyn Academy of Music and:
This series is made possible through the support of:
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