Cannes Directors’ Fortnight: ’The President’s Cake,’ Iraq’s First Film at the Festival, Wins People’s Choice Audience Award

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According to EbMaster, Hasan Hadi’s “The President’s Cake,” Iraq’s initial film chosen for Cannes, was praised as a touching and emotional story. This film has earned the Directors’ Fortnight People’s Choice award, which is the first audience award at Cannes and also recognizes any movie from around the globe.

The esteemed award is based on promising initial global box office success of the movie, distributed by Films Boutique, indicating a wide international release ahead.

News arrives that Valéry Carnoy, a Belgian director, has been awarded the People’s Choice prize in Director’s Fortnight for the second time. His film “Wild Foxes” also received the SACD Coup de Cœur des Auteurs award (often referred to as the “One from the Heart Auteurs Award”). This comes on top of its Europa Cinemas Cannes Label, which recognizes the best European film at Director’s Fortnight, announced only an hour ago. With this double recognition, Carnoy has solidified his position as a director worth watching.

A film titled “The President’s Cake,” produced by a collaboration between A Maiden Voyage Pictures, Missing Piece, Spark Features, and Working Barn Productions, has 19 executive producers which includes Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (“Forrest Gump”) and Chris Columbus. What makes this film stand out, according to critics, is the authenticity and emotion brought to it by Hadi, who spent his childhood in the 1990s southern Iraq affected by food shortages due to U.S.-imposed sanctions. The story takes place in the Mesopotamia marshes and revolves around Lamia, a 9-year-old girl (played by Baneen Ahmed Nayyef, who delivers an “impossibly soulful performance,” according to EbMaster) who is chosen at school to bake Saddam Hussein’s birthday cake. She embarks on a journey with her best friend and neighbor Saeed (played by Sajad Mohamad Qasem), traveling near the city to gather materials for the cake.

According to EbMaster’s critique, Hadi’s movie appears to be a strong candidate for both commercial and art house success. The film’s realistic set design, which includes intricate period details, creates an authentic atmosphere – from the bustling, disorganized streets, to the hazy air, to the various Saddam-related symbols scattered around.

Hadi expressed earlier at the festival to EbMaster that they had numerous proposals stating, ‘We can completely finance your film, but it must be filmed somewhere other than Iraq.’ However, Hadi firmly declined by saying, ‘Definitely not.’ One of his main reasons for choosing to shoot in Iraq was to depict the country. He believes this may be the first time viewers will see Iraq from this perspective.

In the role of Camille, a highly talented boxer from an elite sports academy in France, portrayed by Samuel Kirchner who received a notable Cesar nomination for his performance in “Last Summer” (2023) by Cathérine Breillat, experiences a setback when he suffers a minor injury from a fall. This accident affects his self-confidence significantly, causing him to transition from the alpha male at the top of the pack into an outcast. He starts to question the glorification of violence that was once a part of his life.

As a supporter, I’d express it like this: Critics have praised “Wild Foxes” as a tightly strung and keenly observed debut by Belgian director Carnoy, whose previous work, the short film “Ma planète”, was awarded Best New Talent at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival.

The movie ‘Wild Foxes’ isn’t your typical sports film filled with common tropes. Instead, it delves into the complex and pressing theme of young male camaraderie and vulnerability. The cast, who deliver outstanding performances, lend the film a strong and authentic feel.

Under the distribution of The Party Film Sales, the movie titled “Wild Foxes” was created by Helicotronc, a production company based in Belgium (known for “The Break” and “Ghost Trail”), in collaboration with Les Films du Poisson from France.

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2025-05-22 22:27