Hasan Hadi
Urbanworld Film Festival – Best Narrative Short (for Swimsuit) (2021) Hasan Hadi is an Iraqi film director and screenwriter. His debut feature film, The President's Cake (2025), won the Caméra d'Or for best first feature film at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. The film was selected for the Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes) and won the section's People's Choice award.
Hasan Hadi
Quejaytee · CC BY 4.0
- Name
- Hasan Hadi
- Occupation
- Film director; screenwriter
- Awards
- Caméra d'Or (2025) Directors' Fortnight People's Choice (2025)
- Nationality
- Iraq
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wikidata · Q136411376 · wikipedia · Hasan Hadi
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Hasan Hadi • Occupation — Film director; screenwriter • Notable Works — The President's Cake (2025) • Awards — Caméra d'Or (2025) Directors' Fortnight People's Choice (2025)
Early life and education
Early life and education
Hadi grew up in southern Iraq during wartime. He has worked in journalism and film production. He was an MFA candidate at New York University (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts and previously worked as a researcher for The Wall Street Journal.
The President's Cake
The President's Cake
Hadi wrote and directed The President's Cake, a feature film set in 1990s Iraq under Saddam Hussein. In the film, a nine-year-old girl is tasked with gathering ingredients for a mandatory birthday cake for the president under conditions of sanctions and scarcity. At the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, The President's Cake won the Caméra d'Or; in his acceptance remarks, Hadi said the award marked the first time an Iraqi film had received an award at Cannes. The film also won the Directors' Fortnight People's Choice award. Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights for multiple regions in May 2025. In November 2025, it was announced that Iraq submitted The President's Cake as its official entry for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (2026 awards season).
Filmography
Filmography
• Swimsuit (short film) • The President's Cake (feature film; 2025)
Short films and fellowships
Hadi directed the short film Swimsuit, which won Best Narrative Short at the 2021 Urbanworld Film Festival. In 2022, Hadi was among the fellows of the Sundance Institute for its January Screenwriters Lab.
Awards and honours
• 2025 – Caméra d'Or (The President's Cake). • 2025 – Directors' Fortnight (Quinzaine des Cinéastes) People's Choice (The President's Cake). • 2021 – Urbanworld Film Festival, Best Narrative Short (Swimsuit).
Hasan Hadi being interviewed by press after winning an award at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
Kevin Payravi · Kevin Payravi / WikiPortraits
Hasan Hadi on the Green Carpet at the 2025 Zurich Film Festival.
Quejaytee
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Hasan Hadi, revision 1360376747 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.The Caméra d'or of the 78th Festival de Cannes. Festival de Cannes. 24 May 2025.
- 2.The President's Cake (Mamlaket Al-Qasab). Quinzaine des Cinéastes.
- 3.Choix du public 2025. Quinzaine des Cinéastes. 22 May 2025.
- 4.Sony Pictures Classics Acquires 2025 Directors' Fortnight Audience Award Winner and Caméra d'Or Winner Hasan Hadi's THE PRESIDENT'S CAKE. Sony Pictures Entertainment. 28 May 2025.
- 5.Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Cannes Caméra d'Or Winner 'The President's Cake'. Deadline Hollywood. 27 May 2025.
- 6.Hasan Hadi. Quinzaine des Cinéastes.
- 7.Swimsuit (Best Narrative Short presented by WarnerMedia). Urbanworld Film Festival.
- 8.Festival Winners 2021. Urbanworld Film Festival.
- 9.'7th & Union' Wins Best Narrative Feature Prize At Urbanworld Film Festival; Full Winners List. Deadline Hollywood. 4 October 2021.
- 10.Sundance Institute Announces 2022 January Screenwriters Lab Fellows. Sundance Institute. 14 January 2022.
- 11.Sony Pictures Classics to Release Iraq’s Official Academy Awards Submission 'The President’s Cake'. Sony Pictures Entertainment. 4 November 2025.
References
Citations
References
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Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 25 August 2026.
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