Hasan Hadi is an Iraqi writer/director. Hasan grew up in southern Iraq, during wartime, and over the years worked in journalism, production, and as an adjunct professor at NYU's Graduate Film Program. He received the Gotham-Marcie Bloom Fellowship, the Black Family Production Prize and the Sloan Foundation Production Award. He is a 2022 Sundance Lab Fellow and the recipient of the 2022 Sundance/ NHK Award, SFFILM Rainin Grant, and Doha Film Institute Grant for his feature debut, THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE.
A film by Hasan Hadi
2025 - Iraq/USA/Qatar - Drama
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.
