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The President’s Cake
On the eve of Saddam Hussein’s birthday, a young girl in Iraq is tasked with baking a cake for the dictator — a seemingly simple mission that becomes a tense, dangerous journey through a society shaped by fear, control, and quiet resilience.
Director
Hasan Hadi (debut feature)
CAST
Banin Ahmad Nayef • Sajad Mohamad Qasem • Waheed Thabet Khreibat
RATING
VA
Offensive language
RUNTIME
1h 45m
COUNTRY
Iraq
GENRE
Drama
LANGUAGE
Arabic (Eng subs)
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BOOK SEATS FOR
The President’s Cake
THEPRESI-0512-1630
Tue 12 May 4:30pm
...
THEPRESI-0519-1100
Tue 19 May 11:00am Final
...
All tickets must be prepaid online or at the counter.
Sales are subject to our cancellation policy. No phone bookings
ncp - no complimentary passes
cap - captioned for hard of hearing
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FILM NOTES
A quietly powerful story of childhood, courage, and life under watchful eyes.
Set within the rigid structures of 1990s Iraq, The President’s Cake follows a child’s seemingly ordinary task as it unfolds into something far more precarious. Hasan Hadi approaches the story with restraint and clarity, allowing tension to emerge from the smallest details — a glance, a delay, a wrong step. Through a child’s perspective, the film reveals a world where everyday actions carry weight, and innocence exists alongside constant surveillance.
The young performances bring a remarkable naturalism, grounding the film in lived experience rather than spectacle. What lingers is not just the journey itself, but the atmosphere surrounding it — a portrait of a society where fear is quietly embedded in routine, and small acts of determination become quietly profound. It’s a film of subtle power, built on observation, empathy, and the fragility of ordinary moments.