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The President's Cake

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Movie Info & Cast

Runtime:

1hr 45m

Synopsis

In 1990s Iraq, 9-year-old Lamia must bake the President's birthday cake. She scrambles to find ingredients for this compulsory task while facing potential punishment if she fails.

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.9
14.5K
7.0K
4.9K
RATINGS 64 FANS
3.9
  • Feb 9, 2026

    Très bien le Gâteau du Président, l'histoire d'une petite fille en Irak qui doit cuisiner un gâteau pour honorer Saddam Hussein sauf que malheureusement, comme tout le pays, elle n'a pas d'argent pour acheter les ingrédients. C'est là que commence une quête à travers la…

    269 Likes
    Regelegorila
    Regelegorila
    May 16, 2025

    Jamais je fais tout ça pour Macron

    744 Likes
    Anthony
    Anthony
    Sep 6, 2025

    A beautifully shot and haunting portrait of life under Iraqi dictatorship through the eyes of a young girl. We see just how difficult obtaining simple foods are underneath crushing sanctions, and witness the economic toll on everyday people and breaking down social…

    246 Likes
    Brother Bro
    Brother Bro
  •
    Feb 7, 2026

    - la farine pour la vie - le sucre pour la rendre plus douce - trois œufs pour la fertilité - la levure pour que ce soit moelleux

    125 Likes
    capu
    capu
    Feb 5, 2026

    Not a single reference to Saddam Hussein's hiding spot 💔

    106 Likes
    Adam Bensoltane
    Adam Bensoltane
    Sep 26, 2025

    cutesy naive world cinema following a sweet girl and her pet chicken through the turmoils of Saddam's war torn country in the 90s; disguising as genuinely Iraqi for the appearance while having proper money floating in through Sundance, Doha, with the backing of Hollywood…

    194 Likes
    shookone
    shookone
  •
    Feb 4, 2026

    The cut to Saddam Hussein really was the cherry on top….

    90 Likes
    Aurore
    Aurore
    Jun 8, 2025

    Seriously the best acting in recent years from a child and a rooster  A very special film.

    171 Likes
    Sab Vidler
    Sab Vidler
    May 17, 2025

    La fin de séance avec la salle remplie d’occidentaux et un grand silence : peak cinema experience

    166 Likes
    emlefrmi
    emlefrmi
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Metacritic

88
metacritic
Based on 8 Critics
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80
Feb 10, 2026

Hadi tells an engaging story, brings complex and surprising characters to life, lends a locale an aesthetic iconography, and renders personal identity inextricable from the forces of history that shaped or deformed it.

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Richard Brody
The New Yorker
75
Feb 10, 2026

Winner of both the Camera d’Or and an audience award at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, writer-director Hasan Hadi’s feature debut is both beguiling and unforgiving, culturally specific yet universal, funny and heartbreaking.

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Metacritic review by Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
San Francisco Chronicle
90
May 24, 2025

From the pastoral beauty of its opening sequence to the gut punch of its last, Hadi’s film is an exceptional screen debut, as perceptive as it is kinetic and, with one eye on the bombers overhead, brimming with life.

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Metacritic review by Sheri Linden
Sheri Linden
The Hollywood Reporter
See All Critic Reviews on Metacritic.com