The President's Cake
A Film by Hasan Hadi
2025 - Iraq/USA/Qatar - Drama - 105 min.
with Baneen Ahmed Nayyef , Sajad Mohamad Qasem & Waheed Thabet Khreibat
Oscars 2026: Official Iraqi Submission
Language: Arabic
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.
Directors’
Fortnight
People's Choice Award
Best First
Feature
Official Selection
Iraqi Entry
Official Selection
More Films
Monument to Michael Jackson
A film by Darko Lungulov
2014 - Serbia - Comedy/Drama - 2.35 DCP - 95 min.
In a dying town in Serbia daydreamer Marko is on the verge of divorce from the love of his life, Ljubinka. When an old communist-era monument is removed from the Main Square, he comes up with the idea to build a monument to Michael Jackson in order to save his town and seduce his wife again. But the town's mayor has his own plans.
One Floor Below
A film by Radu Muntean
2015 - Romania - Drama - DCP - 2.35 - 93 min.
After being the sole unfortunate witness to a domestic quarrel that ends up in a murder, Patrascu finds himself at odds with two very close neighbors: one is the bizarre murderer. The other is his very own conscience.
Best Intentions
A film by Adrian Sitaru
2011 - Romania - Drama - 2.35 DCP - 102 min.
Alex, in his mid-thirties, is a quite neurotic character. When his mother is hospitalized with a stroke, the caring son’s life gets out of track. At the hospital he finds himself in a burlesque kind of human zoo full of unexpected characters and surprising events. Trying to manage the situation in between everybody’s advice, he’s becoming hypochondriac. While his mother seems to feel perfectly fine Alex is making his
own set of mistakes – throughout with best intentions.



