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Even amid the usual star-studded frenzy of the Cannes Film Festival, a charming side event is expected to steal the spotlight this year: the Palm Dog awards, which honor standout canine performances on screen. As the unusual competition marks its 25th anniversary, here's a look back at its unique history, including the time Quentin Tarantino showed up to pay tribute to a very special pit bull.
The most recent edition of Cannes was packed with Hollywood superstars, but these were the dogs, on-screen and off, that stole the show.
Demi Moore, making a comeback with The Substance, posed for photographers with her Chihuahua, Pilaf, in her hand, before her press conference. Director Sean Baker, whose film Anora won the prestigious Palme d’Or, brought along his beloved dog Bunsen for interviews (“He’s part Chihuahua,” he explained).
Messi, the canine hero of last year’s Palme d’Or-winning Anatomy of a Fall, ran down the red carpet, performed tricks, took selfies with fans and appeared in a series of videos.
Meanwhile, the Palm Dog award - a high-profile event recognizing the best canine performances at the festival - was livelier and louder than ever. Held at a massive, stylish beachside restaurant, the ceremony drew media crews from around the globe.
Even major media outlets couldn’t resist the wagging appeal. “At Cannes, the dogs were good again this year", declared a New York Times headline. “The real stars of Cannes may be the dogs,” suggested The Independent.
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This year, as the 78th edition of the festival opens next week, the four-legged phenomenon may grow even more prominent, especially as the Palm Dog celebrates its 25th anniversary.
“I’ve made many films about animals in China. The hardest ones involved cows; they’re nearly impossible to train. Dogs are much easier. They share something with humans and are easy to communicate with."
Since the pet website Woopets took the Palm Dog Award under its auspices in 2023, the event has attracted more attention and sponsorships. “Dogs have become increasingly prominent in film since, and their roles in film have become more significant,” said Palm Dog founder, Toby Rose. “We've now got to the point where Messi was so integral to Anatomy of a Fall. You can't even imagine it without a dog.”
Rose, an eccentric, witty and flamboyant figure, could never have imagined how big the ceremony would become when he established it in 2001. The venue has expanded year after year, and the event now attracts film royalty like Quentin Tarantino and Tilda Swinton.
It all started in 2001, when Rose established the Palm Dog, a name which is a playful riff on Cannes’ top prize, the Palme d’Or. Rose's idea was "to honor the four-legged actors.” Rose was inspired by his own fox terrier, Muttley, whom he used to bring to Cannes.
Muttley mingled with celebrities and even appeared on television. “Cannes is a good place for dogs to get a showcase because the French have a very sensible approach to dogs,” Rose told the New York Times. Dogs "are always pretty much, without exception, welcome to join in restaurants, which I know to the Anglo-Saxon American and Brits is almost heresy", he added.
The first Palm Dog winner was Otis, a German shepherd from The Anniversary Party. Jennifer Jason Leigh, the film’s star and co-director, attended the ceremony to accept the prize (a specially designed gilded leather collar), helping create an air of prestige around the Palm Dog Award.
Over the years, winners have come from all over the world - from Nordic countries (Tähti in Aki Kaurismäki’s The Man Without a Past, and Moses in Lars von Trier’s Dogville) to Mongolia (Bruno in The Cave of the Yellow Dog).
Before Messi from Anatomy of a Fall, the most famous Palm Dog recipient was unquestionably Uggie, the Jack Russell Terrier famous for his role in the 2011 Cannes hit The Artist. Uggie later had his paw prints placed in cement on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He died in 2015 in Los Angeles at age 13, two years after retiring from a storied career.
Numerous dogs featured in films by acclaimed directors have taken home the prize, including Mops from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, Boss from Stephen Frears’ Tamara Drewe, and Baby Boy, the nearly blind poodle belonging to flamboyant homosexual pianist Liberace in Steven Soderbergh’s Behind the Candelabra.
Notably, while veteran British filmmaker Ken Loach is no friend of Israel, to put it gently, he is a known dog lover. In 2016, Rose honored him as a recipient of the Palm DogManitarian Award for making three-legged rescue dogs feature in his socially conscious films. In 2023, Loach received a lifetime achievement award. That same year, Isabella Rossellini was also honored with the Palm DogManitarian Award.
Among the Palm Dog Award’s most memorable moments was Quentin Tarantino’s surprise appearance in 2019. Though his film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood left the main competition empty-handed, he was on hand to celebrate Brandy, the pit bull who played Brad Pitt’s loyal companion in the movie.
Tarantino, whose debut film was famously titled Reservoir Dogs, declared, “I have to say I am so honored to have this. I want to dedicate this to my wonderful actress Brandy. She has brought the Palm Dog home to America.”
Tarantino admitted that he will not give Brandy the film’s physical award - an impressive red leather collar. “It’ll go on my mantelpiece,” he said.
Director Sean Baker also attended the 2021 Palm Dog ceremony to accept the Jury Prize for Sophie, a pit bull who starred in his film Red Rocket. “Sophie is the sweetest pit bull ever,” Baker told me last year at Cannes. “She was rescued from death, and the vet gave her a few weeks to live. She’s now living happily in LA and has an agent."
Not all Palm Dog winners have been real flesh and fur. Over the years, animated dogs have managed to outshine their real-life counterparts. In 2009, Dug of Pixar’s animated Up earned the Palm Dog.
Two years earlier, for the first time in Palm Dog history, the award was split between Yuki from the animated Persepolis and a live-action dog from Thailand, marking the first tie in the Palm Dog award's history.
In 2015, the Palm Dog faced an unusual backlash. A handful of French journalists dismissed the prize as silly and unserious, claiming it didn’t match the prestige and gravitas of Cannes’ official selections. “From the French perspective, this is a bit bizarre,” some said. “The British are weird.”
There have also been cases where female dogs won the award for portraying male roles. That was the case in Jim Jarmusch’s 2016 film Paterson, where an English bulldog named Nellie played a male dog called Marvin.
“In the script, I originally wrote about a Jack Russell Terrier because they’re very energetic and I thought they were funny,” Jarmusch told reporters at Cannes. “But the trainer didn’t have one who was trained. Instead, he introduced us to Nellie, a stunning English rescue bulldog."
Nellie passed away shortly before the festival, becoming the first posthumous nominee in Palm Dog history. Josh Astrachan, one of the film’s producers, revealed she had cancer in her leg. “It was very sad,” he said, “but this award feels deeply comforting.”
Last year’s Grand Jury Prize (decided by a panel of mostly British film critics) also went to a female dog playing a male role. The winner was Xiao Xin, a Jack Russell-Greyhound cross, who starred in the Chinese drama Black Dog, which is now being released in theaters.
Black Dog, a critically acclaimed film, centers on China’s stray dog problem. Set in 2008, just before the Beijing Olympics, it follows the relationship between a recently released ex-convict, a former rock star returning to his nearly deserted hometown and a stray dog he saves from authorities aiming to rid the town of its canine population as part of a cleanup effort.
“This isn’t my first film with animals,” director Hu Guan said in Cannes. “I’ve made many films about animals in China. The hardest ones involved cows; they’re nearly impossible to train. Dogs are much easier. They share something with humans and are easy to communicate with."
In the film, the dog helps mirror the ex-prisoner’s emotional rebirth. “He’s like a caged wolf or tiger, needing to let things out. The dog emphasizes the animality of the hero in the film,” Hu said. “I loved working with dogs, especially Xiao Xin.”
In his personal life, Hu Guan has five dogs. “Three of them are huge and were with me every day during the COVID pandemic, with no need for words. In the darkest times, they lay with me for hours. I think that’s real friendship. There’s something undefined, meditative and even divine in the bond between a person and a dog.”
Taiwanese actor Eddie Peng, who plays the ex-convict, was fascinated with Xiao Xin, and the dog has become a central part of his life. “I learned so much from her during the intense shoot. It felt completely natural to adopt her, along with two additional puppies," he said.
“They’ve brought so much joy and peace to my family. When I come home, they don’t care how successful I am or how much money I’ve made. They’re just there. Dogs are honest. They don’t wear masks. They don’t care if you’re famous or not. And I wonder, why aren’t we like that? We’re so consumed with the future and regrets from the past. This film experience felt spiritual to me. It changed how I see life. I feel more grounded now.”
Peng also addressed the global issue of stray dogs, which was created by humans. "I hope our film and this award encourage more people to adopt dogs.”
After meeting health and travel requirements, Peng and Xiao Xin made their way to Cannes. Before flying, Peng even consulted a dog behaviorist to ensure she could handle the long journey and festival environment.
Peng arranged for Xiao Xin to go onstage for the Black Dog premiere, but the festival would not allow her on the carpet. Even in the world of dog stardom, not all are treated equally, and it’s not a free-for-all.
Messi had received special treatment and was granted special permission to roam freely on the red carpet.
Despite strict French protocol requiring black tie attire, Messi’s producer, Tim Newman, was firm that Messi would not follow protocol when he walked the red carpet. “We’re not going to make him a clown,” Newman said. “He’s a dog. No dog has a bow tie. No collar. No bow tie. No disguise. He’s Messi.”