The President's Cake

While people across 1990s Iraq struggle to survive the war and food shortages, President 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, and must use her wits and imagination to gather the scarcely-available ingredients in this directorial debut that earned the 2025 Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival