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The President’s Cake
February 12, 202608:00 p.m.
MADRID
Cines Renoir Plaza de España (located at Calle Martín de los Heros, 12).
08:00 p.m.
Tickets on sale at the Renoir Cinemas website.
The film will be shown in the original language version with subtitles in Spanish. Colloquium on the film in Spanish afterwards.
As part of the Iraq Country Focus which will be taking place throughout the first half of 2026, Casa Árabe, has organized the presentation of the Iraqi film “The President’s Cake,” with the cooperation of the Atalante Cinema, followed by a colloquium about the film with writer Muhsin al-Ramli. The screening will be held on Thursday, February 12, at the Renoir Plaza de España Cinemas. Read further below to find out how to get a ticket.
After winning the “Caméra d’Or” award for best first feature film and the Audience Award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, director Hasan Hadi’s film is beginning its run at Madrid’s movie theaters. On Thursday, February 12, at the end of the screening at 8:00 p.m., there will be a colloquium about the film at the Renoir Plaza de España Cinemas with Muhsin al-Ramli, an Iraqi writer and the author of ”The President’s Gardens” (published by Alianza Editorial), and Karim Hauser, Casa Árabe’s Culture Coordinator.
The President’s Cake, directed by Hasan Hadi (Iraq, UAE, 2025, 102 minutes, +12)
In Iraq during the 1990’s, Little Lamia is given the task of baking a cake for President Saddam Hussein’s birthday. Along with her friend Saeed and her rooster Hindi, she travels around Baghdad in search of the proper ingredients, experiencing a series of adventures that end up completely changing her everyday life.
Awards and nominations: Candidate to the Oscar for Best International Feature Film representing Iraq. Winner of the “Caméra d’Or” for Best First Feature Film and the Audience Award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Produced by: Maiden Voyage, Missing Piece, Spark Features, Working Barn Productions
Cast: Banin Ahmad Nayef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheed Thabet Khreibat
Original language: Iraqi Arabic
Release date: February 6, 2026
Muhsin Al-Ramli is one of Iraq’s most important novelists and playwrights, as well as having translated several Spanish classics into the Arabic language. He has lived in Spain since 1995, when he was driven into exile by Saddam Hussein’s regime. He is also the brother of writer Hassan Mutlak, considered the “Lorca of Iraq” by his country’s intellectuals. Mutlak was hanged by the regime in 1990 after taking part in an attempted coup d’état. He was a founder of the cultural journal Alwah in 1997, of which he is the co-editor, and has been a professor at the University of Saint Louis in Madrid since 2004. His novel “The President’s Gardens” was among the finalists for the IPAF prize in 2013, known as the “Arab Booker Prize,” and he won the English Pen Award.
If you would like to win one of the 10 pairs of tickets we are giving away by drawing, visit our social media pages as of Monday, February 9 and follow all the steps required to participate. The drawing has been made possible through the collaboration between Casa Árabe and Atalante Cinema, the film’s distributor.
The President’s Cake, directed by Hasan Hadi (Iraq, UAE, 2025, 102 minutes, +12)
In Iraq during the 1990’s, Little Lamia is given the task of baking a cake for President Saddam Hussein’s birthday. Along with her friend Saeed and her rooster Hindi, she travels around Baghdad in search of the proper ingredients, experiencing a series of adventures that end up completely changing her everyday life.
Awards and nominations: Candidate to the Oscar for Best International Feature Film representing Iraq. Winner of the “Caméra d’Or” for Best First Feature Film and the Audience Award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Produced by: Maiden Voyage, Missing Piece, Spark Features, Working Barn Productions
Cast: Banin Ahmad Nayef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheed Thabet Khreibat
Original language: Iraqi Arabic
Release date: February 6, 2026
Muhsin Al-Ramli is one of Iraq’s most important novelists and playwrights, as well as having translated several Spanish classics into the Arabic language. He has lived in Spain since 1995, when he was driven into exile by Saddam Hussein’s regime. He is also the brother of writer Hassan Mutlak, considered the “Lorca of Iraq” by his country’s intellectuals. Mutlak was hanged by the regime in 1990 after taking part in an attempted coup d’état. He was a founder of the cultural journal Alwah in 1997, of which he is the co-editor, and has been a professor at the University of Saint Louis in Madrid since 2004. His novel “The President’s Gardens” was among the finalists for the IPAF prize in 2013, known as the “Arab Booker Prize,” and he won the English Pen Award.
If you would like to win one of the 10 pairs of tickets we are giving away by drawing, visit our social media pages as of Monday, February 9 and follow all the steps required to participate. The drawing has been made possible through the collaboration between Casa Árabe and Atalante Cinema, the film’s distributor.
Film poster.