The 78th Cannes Film Festival will come to an end on the evening of May 24th, local time. As usual, the 25th Palm Dog Award will be presented on May 23rd, the day before the closing of the film festival. As a result, a black and white Icelandic sheepdog named Panda became the winner of this year's grand prize.
Grand Prize winner, Icelandic Sheepdog "Panda" in the film "The Love That Remains"
The Palme d'Or for Dogs was founded in 2001. It is not an official award of Cannes, but an idea conceived by a group of media people who come to Cannes every year to watch films and report on the news. The prize was originally a leather dog collar, but after 2023 it was changed to a red cloth triangular scarf, and is awarded to the most eye-catching dog actor in the participating or exhibited films each year. In recent years, the award has attracted more and more attention from dog lovers around the world. Founder Toby Rose said that the impact of the award has exceeded his imagination and has become a major traditional event of the Cannes Film Festival.
As the only award in the world that recognizes the acting skills of dogs, the winning dogs often become famous overnight and are expected to attend various film events in the future. Over the past two decades, dog actors in films such as "A Man Without a Past", "Dogville", "Marie Antoinette", "The Artist" and "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" have won this honor. The winner of the 2024 grand prize is Cody, a hybrid dog in "The Trial of Dogs", and the winner of the 2023 grand prize is Macy, a border collie in "The Trial of the Fallen". Both films have been introduced to China for screening, and their acting skills have also impressed many Chinese audiences.
"Panda" is the pet dog of Paul Masson, the director of "The Love That Remains".
This year's grand prize winner, "Panda", starred in the film "Always Love" (Ástin sem eftir er), directed by Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason. The owner of "Panda" is Pálmason himself, which can be said to be a case of raising an army for a thousand days but deploying it only for a moment. I don't know if the director wanted to make "Panda" fit in better, so he used its real name "Panda" in the film. The film tells the story of the life changes of five family members in a year after a marriage broke down. "Panda" is one of the five family members. It appears throughout the film and is also the emotional core of the film. The young actor who has many scenes with "Panda" is the flesh and blood of director Pálmason, that is, the little owner of "Panda" in life.
A border collie that looks like a panda accepted the award on its behalf. © Woopets
Unfortunately, the "Panda" was unable to go to Cannes to receive the award in person, but expressed his gratitude through a video. At the award ceremony, a border collie that looked exactly like it took its place on stage, wearing a red triangular scarf that symbolizes the highest honor.
This year's Grand Jury Prize was won by Pipa, a Jack Russell terrier, and Lupita, a Podenko hound, from the Spanish film Sirât, which was shortlisted for the main competition. The film, which tells the story of a father, his son and two dogs, crossing the desert to find his daughter, is one of the favorites to win this year.
Lupita in "Love on the Border"
At the award ceremony, director Óliver Laxe and Jade Oukid, who starred in the film, appeared together. Oukid revealed that Lupita was actually her own dog, but died shortly after the filming of the film was completed. "Lupita's name will be remembered with this award. We are very happy to pay tribute to this short life." Toby Ross said after presenting the award.
In addition, the Best Scene-Stealing Moment Award went to a long-haired dachshund and a Rottweiler in Pillion. In this motorcycle-themed, BDSM-themed film directed by Harry Layton, the two protagonists, played by Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling, both bring their dogs on a date. In his acceptance speech, Harry Layton praised the female dachshund Hippo for her "primitive sex appeal" and said that she is the real protagonist of the story.
