Canvaslounge: The president´s cake

Wednesday, June 24, 2026, 7 p.m.
United Kingdom / USA 2025, 127 min, English with subtitles.
Directed by: Oliver Hermanus
Cast: Paul Mescal, Josh O’Connor, Michael Schantz, Alison Bartlett, Molly Price, Hadley Robinson, Chris Cooper

Lionel (Paul Mescal) grows up in rural Kentucky, shaped by the songs of his father and the simple life on the family farm. In 1917, he leaves his hometown to study at the music conservatory in Boston. There he meets the charismatic composer David (Josh O’Connor). A deep connection develops between them – until David's enlistment in the war abruptly separates them. After the end of World War I, fate brings them back together. Together they travel through snowy Maine in the winter of 1920 to collect traditional folk songs and preserve them for future generations. It is a time of intense closeness that Lionel will never forget. In the following years, Lionel lives in Europe, leading a fulfilling life, maintaining several relationships, and making a name for himself as a musician. Yet the memory of David never lets him go.

“Imaginatively told, originally illustrated, and wonderfully acted: art house cinema with philosophical value!” (programmkino.de)
“Despite all the emotional turbulence, the actors remain as restrained as the melancholically grounded film, which tells much through hints and omissions – until the quietly unfolding story of an unfulfilled love reaches you all the more intensely.” (Viennale)
“The finest and most beautiful film of the competition [at Cannes]” (Frankfurter Rundschau)

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2PSkw8BI7k
Distributor: Universal Pictures