Meet the famous Palm Dog winners from Cannes

The ongoing 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has seen many notable celebs walk the red carpet, but Messi, the border collie from the 2023 film Anatomy of a Fall, stole the show with his unmissable appearance at the Palais des Festivals. The Palm Dog winner at last year’s edition of the festival playfully climbed the stairs and posed for shutterbugs with his paws in the air.As the world celebrates Messi, we take a look at some popular Palm Dog winners over the years.

What is the Palm Dog Award?
While the Palme d’Or celebrates exceptional performances and films at the Cannes Film Festival, the Palm Dog celebrates dogs who have appeared in live-action or animated films showcased at the fest. The award-winning pooch gets a specially designed gilded leather collar with the inscription - Palm Dog.
Did you know?
The Palm Dog was started in 2001 by Toby Rose, a cinema and dog enthusiast. The idea stemmed from his own dog, a Fox Terrier named Mutt, and his desire to celebrate the best canine performances at the Cannes Film Festival. Over the years, new categories, such as The Mutt Moment for the best canine appearance, and PalmDogManitarian award for individuals dedicated to the wellbeing of dogs, have been introduced. Isabella Rossellini is the most recent winner of the PalmDogManitarian award. The Palm Dog has been awarded every year except 2020, when the festival didn’t happen due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
(Source: Palm Dog Woopets)
Some of the popular winners:
Otis: In 2001, Otis was presented with the first-ever Palm Dog award for featuring in The Anniversary Party.

Mops: The pug from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, with Kirsten Dunst in the lead, was given the award in 2006.

Uggie: Uggie, who featured with Jean Dujardin in The Artist, was the centre of attention at Cannes 2011, also winning the Palm Dog that year.

Baby Boy: The canine was awarded for appearing in Behind The Candelabra (2013) alongside Michael Douglas and Matt Damon.

The entire canine cast: Many canines were part of the 2014 film White God and all of them were recognised at Cannes.

Sayuri, aka Brandy: Sayuri played Brad Pitt’s dog in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and won the laurel in 2019. “I did feel that I was in good standing to win the Palm Dog. So I want to dedicate this to my wonderful actress Brandy. She has brought the Palm Dog home to America,” Tarantino said in his speech.
Animated winners:
Thrice in the history of the award till date, animated canines too have been conferred with the Palm Dog honours.

Bruno from Sylvain Chomet's The Triplets of Belleville, in 2003

Yuki from Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, in 2007

Dug from the Academy Award-winning Up, in 2009