New Book about Cannes Film Fest at 80! (May 2027)
Camer d’Or Winners, 1978-present
Alambrista! (1978), US
2. Northern Lights (1979), US
3. Adrien’s Story (1980), French
4. Desperado City (1981), West German
5. Half a Life (1982), French
6. The Princess (1983), Hungarian
7. Stranger Than Paradise (1984), US
8. Oriana (1985), Venezuela
9. Noir et Blanc (1986), French (woman)
10. Robinsonada or My English Grandfather (1987), Soviet-Georgian
11. Salaam Bombay! (1988), US-Imndoa (woman)
12. My 20th Century (1989), Hungary (woman)
13. Freeze Die Come to Life (1990)
14. Toto the Hero (1991), Belgium
15. Mac (1992), US
16. The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), Vietnam
17. Coming to Terms with the Dead (1994)
18. The White Balloon (1995), Iran
19. Love Serenade (1996), Australia (woman)
20. Suzaku (1997)
21. Slam (1998), US
22. Marana Simhasanam (1999), Iran
23. Tie
Djomeh (2000)
A Time for Drunken Horses (2000)
24. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), Canadian
25. Seaside (2002)
26. Reconstruction (2003), Denmark
27. Or (My Treasure) (2004), Israel (woman)
28. Tie
Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), US (woman); The Forsaken Land (2005)
30. 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006), Romania
31. Jellyfish (2007), Israel (woman)
32. Hunger (2008), UK (Black)
33. Samson and Delilah (2009)
34. Año bisiesto (Leap Year) (2010), Mexico
35. Las Acacias (2011), Argentine
36. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), US
37. Ilo Ilo (2013), Singapore
38. Party Girl (2014), France
39. Land and Shade (2015), Colombia
40. Divines (2016), France
41. Montparnasse Bienvenue (2017), France
42. Girl (2018), Belgium (Gay director)
43. Our Mothers (2019)
44. Murina (2021)
45. War Pony (2022), US (woman)
46. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023)
47. Armand (2024)
48. The President’s Cake (2025), Iraq
49. ? (to be announced May 24, 2026)
The President’s Cake, written and directed by Hasan Hadi, world premiered at the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 2025 Cannes Film Fest, where it won the section’s Audience Award and the Caméra d’Or.
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Theatrical release poster
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Released in the U.S. by Sony Classics on February 6, 2026, the movie was selected as the Iraqi entry for the 2026 Best International Feature Oscar but was not among the final nominees.
The film is set in Iraq under Saddam Hussein in the 1990s, after Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and during the period of economic sanctions imposed by western countries.
Lamia, a girl of 9, must gather ingredients to bake a mandatory cake to celebrate the president’s birthday, or face punishment at school. She is poor, and lives with her grandmother Bibi and her cockerel Hindi. Her shopping list includes flour, eggs, and sugar from Bibi, but groceries are expensive and scarce.
The old and sick Bibi takes Lamia to meet her foster mother, but the girl flees. She is joined by her friend, planning to sell her father’s watch to buy the goods. The two encounter various (mostly bad) people, but they survive.
It turns out that even the main concern of the police getting the president’s birthday.
The film is the feature directorial debut of Hasan Hadi, who co-wrote the script with Eric Roth. Roth, Marielle Heller, and Chris Columbus are among the executive producers.
An astutely tragic-comic tale, The President’s Cake was shot entirely in Iraq, using mostly untrained actors. It brings vividly to life a devastating portrait of childhood in rural Iraq, benefiting from Baneen Ahmed Nayyef’s performance as Lamia, who is equally adepy at expressing joy and sadness, frustration and determination.
It became the first film from Iraq to compete in the Directors’ Fortnight, and won the top prize in the section, the only Cannes Film Fest award voted for by audience members.
Cast
Baneen Ahmad Nayyef as Lamia
Sajad Mohamad Qasem as Saeed
Waheed Thabet Khreibat as Bibi
Rahim AlHaj as Jasim
Credits:
Directed, written by Hasan Hadi
Produced by Leah Chen Baker
Cinematography Tudor Vladimir Panduru
Edited by Andu Radu
Distributed by Sony Classics (US)
Release dates: May 16, 2025 (Cannes); Feb 6, 2026 (US)
Running time: 105 minutes
Language Arabic (Iraqi dialect)
Box office $2 million
New Book about Cannes Film Fest at 80! (May 2027)
Camer d’Or Winners, 1978-present
Alambrista! (1978), US
2. Northern Lights (1979), US
3. Adrien’s Story (1980), French
4. Desperado City (1981), West German
5. Half a Life (1982), French
6. The Princess (1983), Hungarian
7. Stranger Than Paradise (1984), US
8. Oriana (1985), Venezuela
9. Noir et Blanc (1986), French (woman)
10. Robinsonada or My English Grandfather (1987), Soviet-Georgian
11. Salaam Bombay! (1988), US-Imndoa (woman)
12. My 20th Century (1989), Hungary (woman)
13. Freeze Die Come to Life (1990)
14. Toto the Hero (1991), Belgium
15. Mac (1992), US
16. The Scent of Green Papaya (1993), Vietnam
17. Coming to Terms with the Dead (1994)
18. The White Balloon (1995), Iran
19. Love Serenade (1996), Australia (woman)
20. Suzaku (1997)
21. Slam (1998), US
22. Marana Simhasanam (1999), Iran
23. Tie
Djomeh (2000)
A Time for Drunken Horses (2000)
24. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001), Canadian
25. Seaside (2002)
26. Reconstruction (2003), Denmark
27. Or (My Treasure) (2004), Israel (woman)
28. Tie
Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005), US (woman); The Forsaken Land (2005)
30. 12:08 East of Bucharest (2006), Romania
31. Jellyfish (2007), Israel (woman)
32. Hunger (2008), UK (Black)
33. Samson and Delilah (2009)
34. Año bisiesto (Leap Year) (2010), Mexico
35. Las Acacias (2011), Argentine
36. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012), US
37. Ilo Ilo (2013), Singapore
38. Party Girl (2014), France
39. Land and Shade (2015), Colombia
40. Divines (2016), France
41. Montparnasse Bienvenue (2017), France
42. Girl (2018), Belgium (Gay director)
43. Our Mothers (2019)
44. Murina (2021)
45. War Pony (2022), US (woman)
46. Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell (2023)
47. Armand (2024)
48. The President’s Cake (2025), Iraq
49. ? (to be announced May 24, 2026)
