The Sony Pictures Classics drama THE PRESIDENT’S CAKE is set to make its SVOD debut early next month, arriving on Netflix on September 3rd, 2026. he film had its world premiere in the Directors’ Fortnight section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the section’s Audience Award and the Caméra d’Or. It launched in US theaters on February 6th, 2026, and hit VOD and digital platforms on April 7th, 2026.
The President’s Cake is written and directed by Hasan Hadi, and stars Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheed Thabet Khreibat and Rahim AlHaj.
In the film, while people across 1990s Iraq struggle to survive the war and food shortages, the President 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 and prepare the mandatory cake.
The President’s Cake was selected as the Iraqi entry for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, making the December shortlist, but was not ultimately nominated. Director Hadi was nominated in the Best First Time Feature Film category at the 2025 DGA Awards.
We’ve added the release date to our Streaming Calendar. Buy or rent the film from one of our digital partners below, and check out the official US trailer.
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