Event Info
Director: Hasan Hadi, Iraq/USA/Qatar, 2025, 95', Arabic with English subtitles
In 1990s Iraq, nine-year-old Lamia is picked to bake a compulsory birthday cake for Saddam Hussein, an absurd “honour” with real consequences. Under sanctions and scarcity, she races through markets and checkpoints hunting flour, sugar and eggs, as childhood becomes a negotiation with fear. The President's Cake is told with a child’s-eye clarity: tender, darkly funny, and quietly devastating, a lyrical portrait of resilience and irony that never turns people into statistics. Written and directed by Hasan Hadi, it’s a small odyssey with enormous emotional weight
'A lovely, sincerely touching work, and one of the most impressive debut features of modern times.' - In Review Online
🏆Directors' Fortnight Audience Award Winner at the Cannes Film Festival 2025
🏆Camera d'Or Winner at the Cannes Film Festival 2025
This year marks the 24th edition of WOW, celebrating the very best of Welsh and world cinema. From 25-28 March 2026, we’ll bring the magic of film to our festival ‘home,’ Aberystwyth. We’ll showcase a rich variety of films that highlight local talent and global stories. Join us as we celebrate 25 incredible years of WOW and the power of cinema to connect and inspire.
** Get the WOW Pass HERE : Buy a Festival Pass for £80 to have access to every WOW screening at the Arts Centre **
Pass includes all films and events taking place at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre except for the screening of 'Little Amelie' - as part of Abercon - on March 14. The events taking place at Arad Goch must also be booked separately.
Please let Box Office know your preferred seat and if you have any access needs, when booking a festival pass.
