The President’s Cake (M)
BREC CineSaver Pass One Pass, Five Entries: Full: $85 | Conc/Student: $75
For the best value on your cinema tickets, purchase a BREC CineSaver Pass, valid for 5 entries to any BREC International Film Festival screening in Winter 2026!
BREC CineSaver Passes can be purchased online, or via the BREC Box Office on 1300 661 272.
Use your 7-digit pass number to pre-book film screenings online – OR – present the printed or digital pass for scanning at the door of the film screening you wish to attend; attendance is subject to capacity availability.
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Director: Hasan Hadi
Cast: Baneen Ahmed Nayyef, Sajad Mohamad Qasem, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Rahim Al Haj
Classification: M – Coarse language
Country: Iraq, USA, Qatar
Genre: Drama
Language: Arabic, English subtitles
Runtime: 105 mins
The President’s Cake
While people across 1990s Iraq struggle, penniless school kids draw their names from a bowl to determine who will bring what to the mandatory celebration of Saddam Hussein’s birthday.
9-year-old Lamia has been given the hardest task of all – preparing the cake.
Amid war, sanctions and food shortages, Lamia must use her wits and imagination as she embarks on a perilous journey to gather the simple ingredients before failure brings serious consequences.
Winner of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival Camera d’Or, The Presidents Cake is a blend of tension and unexpected humour which serves as a portrait of this pivotal, but scarcely documented part of the deep history of Iraq.
Winner | Cannes Film Festival – Camera d’Or (Hasan Hadi), Director’s Fortnight Audience Award
Winner | Stockholm International Film Festival – Best Debut
Winner | Hamptons International Film Festival – Best Narrative Feature
“From the pastoral beauty of its opening sequence to the gut punch of its last, Hadi’s film is an exceptional screen debut, as perceptive as it is kinetic and, with one eye on the bombers overhead, brimming with life.”
– The Hollywood Reporter
“An unfolding series of adventures and misadventures, which present an unvarnished picture of Hussein’s Iraq and the imperatives dictating the day-to-day dealings of its citizens.”
– The Age
Ticket Prices
Full: $19
Conc/Student: $17
Under 18: $12
BREC CineSaver Pass
One Pass, Five Entries
Full: $85
Concession/Student: $75
For the best value on your cinema tickets, purchase a BREC CineSaver Pass, valid for 5 entries to any BREC International Film Festival screening in Winter 2026!
BREC CineSaver Passes can be purchased online, or via the BREC Box Office on 1300 661 272.
Use your 7-digit pass number to pre-book film screenings online – OR – present the printed or digital pass for scanning at the door of the film screening you wish to attend; attendance is subject to capacity availability
Tickets & Venue Info
The BREC Film Festival Hub and Box Office open 1 hour prior to the first session of the day.
The BREC Box Office is open on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 10am to 4pm.
If you experience any difficulties booking tickets, please contact our Box Office Team on 1300 661 272
ACCESSIBILITY For accessible bookings please contact our Box Office Team on 1300 661 272.
Are you colour blind? Experience more colour during your visit to BREC with the EnChroma Colour Accessibility Program!
Tickets sold through the BREC Box Office are subject to our Terms Of Sale.
For more information about visiting BREC please visit our FAQ’s page.
Don’t love a queue? We get it.
That’s why we’ve made it easy to buy your tickets online well before you come to the theatre. That way, you can cruise in at your own pace.
Better yet, pick up a CineSaver Pass. Five entries to any film during the festival to use however you like – and it’s $10 cheaper!
You can bring some friends, or just use them all yourself and really soak in the festival. Once you have the pass, you have the control. You can even pre-book the sessions you want online, so you know you won’t miss out.
Festival Hub
Come out of the cold and into the hearty embrace of the BREC Sky Bar as we transform it into our Festival Hub. It’s open an hour before the first screening on each day, so you can come early and indulge in a drink and your favourite movie snacks – or hang out after your film, and make some new friends with fellow film lovers.
The Festival Hub is your space to relax, unwind, and connect with some great international film.
