The President's Cake wins the Arthouse Cinema Award at the 21st CineFest Miskolc • CICAE

At the 21st CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival in Hungary, the film THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE by Hasan Hadi received the Arthouse Cinema Award by the CICAE jury. The film was also previously awarded with the Golden Camera at the Cannes Film Festival 2025.

The jury, formed by Domenico Dinoia (Palestrina/Troisi/Mexico, Milan, Italy), Luca Gasser (Cinematograph/Leokino, Innsbruc, Austria) and Ingrid Machado (Solax Film Club, Dublin, Ireland) stated as following:

"The President’s Cake is a simple but sensible chronicle of two children’s everyday life in a rural part of Iraq. Without actually depicting the atrocities of war, it shows how even during times of dramatic change, life goes on. Despite its grave backstory, the film contains ample moments of light-hearted hope without euphemizing."

While people across 1990s Iraq struggle to survive the war and food shortages, 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. The young girl must now use her wits and imagination to gather ingredients for the mandatory cake or face the consequences.

Directed by: Hasan HADI

Screenplay: Hasan HADI

Cinematographer: Tudor Vladimir PANDURU

Editor: Andu RADU

Cast: Baneen Ahmad NAYYEF, Waheed Thabet KHREIBAT, Sajad Mohamad QASEM

Production:

International Sales:

The CICAE Arthouse Cinema Award was conceived as an impetus for a film to have a wider recognition as a work of art and to stand as a mark of quality for cinema-goers and cinephiles.