Sony Pictures Classics Takes North America & Multiple Territories For Cannes Caméra D'Or Winner ‘The President's Cake'
The film, which debuted in Directors' Fortnight, also proved a crowdpleaser in the Cannes parallel section, winning its People's Choice audience award.
More from Deadline
Janus Films Acquires Bi Gan's Cannes Prize-winner 'Resurrection' For North America
Sergei Loznitsa's 'Two Prosecutors' Scores Fresh Deals For Coproduction Office - Cannes
Netflix Buys Richard Linklater's 'Breathless' Homage & Love Letter To Cinema 'Nouvelle Vague' In Record Domestic Deal For A French-Language Movie
Deadline critic Pete Hammond also fell for the film describing it as a 'a true gem and a real discovery'. Check out his review here.
New York-based Hadi has tapped into his own childhood in southern Iraq in the 1990s, growing up under the regime of President Saddam Hussein and the socio-economic crisis provoked by international sanctions, for the film.
The drama follows nine-year-old Lamia who gets the short straw of having to provide a birthday cake for her classmates to celebrate the president's birthday. Gathering the ingredients for the mandatory cake at a time of shortages is a monumental task but failure to deliver could lead to prison or death for her family.
The movie is produced by Leah Chen Baker with executive producers including award-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump) and director Marielle Heller (Nightbitch, Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood).
The film is made in association with Missing Piece Films, Working Barn Productions, Maiden Voyage Pictures and Spark Features.
'Winning the Caméra d'Or in a year with so many formidable directorial debuts and winning the Audience Award in the Directors' Fortnight, Hasan Hadi's The President's Cake is the surprise hit of this year's festival. In the tradition of major Cannes discoveries, these ovations and critical acclaim mark the beginning of a fresh voice destined to thrill audiences everywhere,' said Sony Pictures Classics.
'Since childhood, Sony Pictures Classics has been the go-to name for quality cinema and original storytelling. It's a dream come true—and a true honor—to now be part of that legacy. Their incredible history of championing international films and commitment to theatrical releases makes them the perfect home for The President's Cake,' added Hadi.
The film was negotiated between UTA Independent Film Group, WME Independent and Sony Pictures Classics. Films Boutique represents international sales. Hadi is repped by UTA and Jonathan Gardner.
The Sundance Film Institute and Doha Film Institute are among the many supporters of the film.
Best of Deadline
'Hacks' Season 4 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out?
Everything We Know About 'Hacks' Season 4 So Far
'The Last Of Us': Differences Between HBO Series & Video Game Across Seasons 1 And 2
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Alan Tudyk Says He Was Removed From ‘I, Robot's Press Materials After Testing Higher Than Will Smith In Early Screenings: 'I Was Very Upset'
Alan Tudyk reflected on his career and revealed that there's a reason why not many people know he played Sonny in the 2004 sci-fi action film I, Robot. During an appearance on Toon'd In with Jimmy Cummings, Tudyk said that with test screening audiences, he tested higher than the film's star Will Smith. More from Deadline Michael Bay & Will Smith Part Company On Netflix Action Film 'Fast And Loose' Emmy-Nominated 'Slow Horses' Writer/EP Will Smith To Exit Show After Season 5; Reveals Emotional Farewell And His Dream Spin-Off 'Resident Alien' Canceled After 4 Seasons 'They were doing test audiences with the movie and they score the characters and I got word back, 'Alan, you're testing higher than Will Smith,'' Tudyk recalled on the podcast from June 15. 'And then I was gone. I was gone. There was no publicity and my name was not mentioned.' He continued, 'I was so shocked, I was like, 'But wait, nobody's going to know that I [play the robot].'' Tudyk voiced Sonny the robot and was motion-captured for the CGI character, saying that he 'put a lot into' his performance, adding, 'At the time, I was very upset.' Directed by Alex Proyas, I, Robot is set in Chicago 2035 as robots fill public service positions around the world. Will Smith plays Detective Del Spooner as he investigates the death of the U.S. Robotics founder, who believes that Sonny the robot murdered him. The film also stars Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, Shia LaBeouf, Fiona Hogan, Terry Chen, Adrian L. Ricard, Jerry Wasserman, Peter Shinkoda, Emily Tennant, and David Haysom. I, Robot was nominated for an Oscar in the category of Best Visual Effects, which it ultimately lost to the Sam Raimi-directed superhero action film, Spider-Man 2. Watch Tudyk's interview below. Best of Deadline Sean 'Diddy' Combs Sex-Trafficking Trial Updates: Cassie Ventura's Testimony, $10M Hotel Settlement, Drugs, Violence, & The Feds A Full Timeline Of Blake Lively & Justin Baldoni's 'It Ends With Us' Feud In Court, Online & In The Media 'The Boys' Season 5: Everything We Know So Far
Cosmopolitan
21 hours ago
- Cosmopolitan
Will Cate Blanchett Star in a ‘Squid Game' US Spin-Off?
Ever since that shocking Squid Game season 3 ending, fans have been talking about the possibility of a US spin-off series starring Cate Blanchett (and helmed by David Fincher). And though Squid Game creator Hwang Dong-hyuk previously revealed to Variety that Cate's cameo in the series finale was 'not related' to the rumored spin-off, the actress is now weighing in on her future with the franchise. When asked about starring in an English-language spin-off or sequel series, Cate told Variety she is 'wildly open to anything,' adding, 'I mean, I'd love to work with David [Fincher] again. It's been ages. But no, I don't know anything more than you do. I'm not being coy. I really don't.' Way back in October 2024—long before the Squid Game series finale aired—Deadline reported that a brand-new spin-off was being developed for Netflix with David Fincher at the helm of the project. However, little else has been heard about the project since in June 2025, Hwang Dong-hyuk said he hadn't 'heard officially from Netflix about David Fincher creating a Squid Game.' But fret not, because the Squid Game creator is open to the possibly of a spin-off series. As he told Entertainment Weekly, 'I'm not trying to say that I'm going to close the door to spin-offs or sequels altogether because they say never say never.' And from the sound of it, Cate is down as chances are, even if she did know anything about a sequel series, she wouldn't be allowed to share any deets. While speaking about her Squid Game cameo with Variety (which she apparently landed 'out of the blue'), Cate noted how everything she learned about her role 'was on a need-to-know basis.' As she explained, 'I got a couple of storyboards. I had to [learn to] play the game very quickly. I had to practice and practice. I knew there were four or five setups that they were going to do, and I knew what they needed from every shot, and then I was given the sides. But it was one of the more mysterious jobs.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Russia deal will be 'a canary for the markets' on US–China talks
The deadline for the US and China to reach a trade deal is Tuesday, but the market is widely expecting an extension for the trading partners to iron out the details. US President Trump is also set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. Pangaea Policy founder Terry Haines says that what comes out of Trump and Putin's meeting will be a signal of what's to come in US–China talks. To watch more expert insights and analysis on the latest market action, check out more Market Catalysts. Well, and there's one more big wait and see that we're waiting for, and that's a deal with China, right, Terry? So, you know, the deadline is tomorrow. The indications, all the indications was that it was going to be pushed back again, and yet, we haven't heard a peep on that front. So what's going on? Well, I think it's very likely that it gets pushed back, Julie, but not for the, not, not for any trade related reasons. Uh, you have to remember that, you know, the Beasant mantra before about geopolitics being US economic policy. Uh, what the United States wants at the end of this week is forward progress, uh, if not an actual deal on ending the Ukraine war. Uh, Russia is a client state of China at this point. And the last thing that Trump's going to want to do, if he thinks he can make forward progress on a Russia deal, is uh, slap a bunch of tariffs, higher tariffs, uh, on China this week. Uh, so I think that that doesn't happen. But what I would say to you also is that the, the success or failure of the Russian deals, or the Russian deal at the end of this week, is the canary for the markets about whether US-China talks succeed at all. Uh, if, if Russia moves, it's a sign that China's told it to move and that China may, may be more likely to reach some rapprochement with the United States on trade related issues. Uh, if Russia becomes recalcitrant and back slides, then you get a situation where China's decided to be tougher across the board, which is worse for a United States-China trade deal.
