It is the feature directorial debut for Giannopoulos, who previously directed short films and worked with Miley Cyrus, A$AP Rocky, Kid Cudi, and others on music projects.

[2] Young Italian-American, Giovanni "Gio", reluctantly continues his family's annual tradition of bringing a cake to the house of his Uncle Angelo, a local crime lord, to mark the anniversary of his mob-connected father's passing ten years earlier.

Producers include Diomedes Raul Bermudez of Purpose Films, Siena Oberman of Artemis Pictures and Danny Sawaf of Oceana Studios.

[5] Leslie Felperin of The Guardian was critical of the film's "meandering script and absurdly grand guignol ending," but gave praise to Sean Price Williams' cinematography for capturing New York City.

"[7] Alex Saveliev of Film Threat praised Fernandez for being "a compelling lead" and the rest of his ensemble cast, singling out Fichtner for displaying "unbridled ferocity" as Uncle Ricardo, and the overall quality giving off "a strong Safdie brothers vibe," concluding that: "As it stands, The Birthday Cake is a formidable showcase for an emerging director.