Picture: Sony Pictures Classics
Following a celebrated run on the international festival circuit and a limited US theatrical release earlier this year, the acclaimed drama The President’s Cake is officially making its streaming debut. The Cannes-winning film will arrive on Netflix in the United States on September 3rd, 2026.
Distributed in the US by Sony Pictures Classics, the historic indie feature joins a packed September lineup on Netflix. It kicks off a major month for recent third-party theatrical movies making their SVOD premieres on the platform, with later additions including the Bleecker Street camp disaster spoof Stop! That! Train! (arriving September 20th) and the British cyber-heist thriller LifeHack (arriving September 23rd).
The film is coming to Netflix courtesy of the Sony Pictures first window deal, with the movie being distributed in the United States by the Sony Pictures Classics label.
Here is everything you need to know about The President’s Cake before it hits your Netflix queue next month.
What is The President’s Cake about?
Written and directed by Hasan Hadi in his feature debut, the film takes audiences back to Iraq in the early 1990s during the Gulf War. Against a backdrop of extreme poverty and severe UN-backed sanctions, mandatory celebrations are held across the country for dictator Saddam Hussein’s birthday.
The story follows nine-year-old Lamia, whose name is drawn in a school lottery, tasking her with a seemingly impossible mission: she must bake a ceremonial birthday cake for the regime, or face dire consequences. Aided by her grandmother (Bibi) and her loyal friend Saeed, Lamia must scour the resource-starved city in a desperate search for basic, hard-to-find ingredients like eggs, flour, and sugar. What starts as a simple school assignment quickly turns into a high-stakes, deeply emotional journey through fear, survival, and the resilience of childhood.
The movie features a remarkable cast of Iraqi talent, anchored by a phenomenal central performance from young actress Baneen Ahmad Nayyef as Lamia. The supporting cast includes Sajad Mohamad Qasem (as Saeed), Waheed Thabet Khreibat (as Bibi), and Rahim AlHaj.
If you are a fan of powerful, critically acclaimed international cinema, this is a must-add to your watchlist. The President’s Cake made history at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it took home the prestigious Caméra d’Or (awarded to the best debut feature) as well as the Directors’ Fortnight Audience Award. It also served as Iraq’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, making it all the way to the December shortlist.
Critics have heavily praised Hadi’s direction for its ability to balance the innocence and dark humor of childhood with the crushing reality of a repressive system. The film currently boasts stellar reviews, with critics calling it a vital, visually striking portrait of life in 1990s Iraq.
As with most third-party licensing pickups, please note that this September 3rd release date currently only applies to Netflix in the United States. Netflix will stream the movie, much like all of its other Sony Pictures Classics movies, for an 18-month stretch.
