This year’s Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, an annual independent sidebar of the Cannes Film Festival dedicated to independent, auteur-driven films from around the world, gave out its first set of awards on Thursday.

The President’s Cake, Iraq’s first-ever submission at the festival, won the Audience Award. The film follows a nine-year-old girl who must gather ingredients and bake a cake to celebrate the birthday of the former president of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, or else face punishment. The film is the directorial debut of Hasan Hadi, and it was written by him and co-written by American screenwriter Eric Roth, who is also one of the film’s producers. The film also features other notable American names serving as producers, including Chris Columbus, director of Home Alone and the first two Harry Potter movies, his daughter Elanor Columbus, and Marielle Heller, director of films like Diary of a Teenage Girl and Can You Ever Forgive Me?

The Belgian-produced film, Wild Foxes won the festival’s Cœur des Auteurs (which translates to “One from the Heart Auteurs”) Award. It is a boxing drama set in a sports boarding school and follows a young boxer whose relationship with his team is tested after he recovers from a near-fatal accident. The film is the directorial debut of Belgian director Valery Carnoy.

UTA/WME will handle the North American distribution of The President’s Cake. The North American distribution rights for Wild Foxes are held by Metrograph Pictures.