About this event
Screen with No Borders brings together communities in Sussex and beyond to connect, engage and immerse themselves in the stories, people, landscapes and cultures of Global Majority countries. We create nourishing evenings with film, food and open conversations to explore themes such as justice, migration, love, memory and identity, through a shared curiosity for our rich and diverse world.
The President’s Cake (Hasan Hadi, 2025, 1:42min)
In 1991 Iraq, under the regime of Saddam Hussein, nine-year-old Lamia is chosen by her teacher to bake the honorary cake for the school’s presidential birthday celebration. While the task seems impossible in face of the scarcity in which Lamia and her grandmother live, Lamia is determined to see it through. Armed with her pet rooster and a shopping list she embarks on a journey to the city in an attempt to secure the necessary ingredients. Through her child’s eye, Baghdad under Hussein’s dictatorship unfolds, marked by sanctions, economic hardship and dysfunctional authorities.
Moving between the tragic and the comic, and between realism to fabulism, this accomplished debut from Iraqi director Hasan Hadi is based on the filmmaker’s childhood memories. Made largely with a cast of non-professionals, it features a remarkable performance from Baneen Ahmad Nayyef as Lamia and Sajad Mohama Qasem as her friend Saleem.
Food is served by Soraya at Taarof, a local chef and caterer who uses her mixed heritage food as a conduit for bringing people together to create a culturally enriched community.
Join us for a hearty bowl of Iraqi food (and cake) at 7pm
Film screening with short introduction starts at – 7:30pm
Post screening conversation – 9:30pm -10:15pm
