Dogs are pivotal characters on the big screen, alighting it with not only their furry antics but also dabbling with more demanding genres like drama. Alas, they don’t really get the recognition they deserve for their acting prowess.
Legend has it that during the very first Academy Awards, a GSD named Rin Tin Tin, gained the most votes for the Best Actor only to be ignored. The world rallied behind Leonardo DiCaprio till he got his Oscar but what about the other notable contenders – the canine kind, long snubbed by the Academy?
And that’s not all, remember Cosmo in ‘Beginners’ and Uggie in ‘The Artist’.
Palm Dog Award
Palm Dog Award, a yearly alternative award presented by the international film critics at the Cannes Film festival, honors the best performance by a four-legged star. These awards have rapidly grown in stature, due to the illustrious ensemble of a jury made up of some of the world’s leading movie critics.
The Palm dog award is now one of the most recognized and lauded fixtures at the Cannes Film Festival. The awards are covered by The New York Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, Le Monde, The Sydney Morning Herald and not to forget, Dog with Blog 🙂
The award has a phenomenal track record of predicting Cannes’ best film winners. Uggie was named top dog for his star turn in The Artist in 2011. That film went on to win the Palme d’Or and the Oscar. In 2014, the entire canine cast of White God was honored, and that film went on to win the top prize in the Un Certain Regard.
Recipients of the Palm Dog awards:
- Otis from The Anniversary Party (2001)
- Tähti (‘Star’ in Finnish) in The Man Without a Past (2002)
- Moses in Dogville (2003)
- All dogs in the film Mondovino (2004), the documentary which investigates the effect of globalization on wine culture.
Mops in Marie Antoinette (2006), a biopic on the Archduchess. 
In 2007 for the first time, the Palm Dog was awarded in a tie: All the stray dogs in Mid Road Gang and Yuki in Persepolis
Lucy in Wendy and Lucy (2008) took us through a penniless girl’s journey to Alaska accompanied by her dog…
Dug in Up (2009) helps the grieving old man to expect love all over again.
Boss in the romantic comedy Tamara Drewe (2010), a modern retelling of Far From The Madding Crowd.
Uggie in The Artist (2011) not only won the Palm Dog at Cannes but also had a legion of fans rooting for him to be nominated for an Oscar.
Banjo and Poppy in one of the best black comedies ever, Sightseers (2012)
- Baby Boy, the sight-impaired poodle in Behind the Candelabra (2013).
- The canine cast of White God (2014)
Lucky the Maltipoo in Arabian Nights (2015)
Nellie in Paterson (2016)
Who started the Palm Dog Award?
The Palm Dog was created in 2001 by British journalist Toby Rose, named in honour of his own Fox Terrier, Mutt. The trophy is wonderfully low-key: a leather collar embroidered with the words “PALM DOG”, a cheeky play on the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or. What began as a critics’ in-joke has become a genuine Cannes institution, and in 2023 the pet-media company Woopets took the award over from Rose to keep it going.
Recent Palm Dog winners
The roll call of champions kept growing long after the early years, joining legends like Uggie in The Artist and Dug in Up. A few of the most memorable recent winners:
- 2019 — Brandy, the pit bull from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino collected the collar himself).
- 2022 — Brit, the silver poodle from War Pony.
- 2023 — Messi, the Border Collie from Anatomy of a Fall, who became a global sensation and went on to charm the Oscars.
- 2024 — Kodi, the senior stray at the heart of the Swiss-French comedy Dog on Trial.
- 2026 — Yuri, the rescue dog at the centre of La Perra, the latest to take the collar at Cannes.
The Palm DogManitarian: not just movie dogs
The Palm Dog has spun off side honours, the best known being the Palm DogManitarian, awarded for real-world canine service. In 2022 it went to Patron, the Ukrainian mine-sniffing dog who became a national hero. There is also the “Mutt Moment” for the single best canine appearance of the festival.
Palm Dog Award: FAQ
What is the Palm Dog Award? An alternative Cannes Film Festival prize, awarded each year since 2001 to the best canine performance in a festival film. The trophy is a leather collar reading “PALM DOG”, a play on the Palme d’Or.
Who started the Palm Dog? British journalist Toby Rose founded it in 2001, naming it after his Fox Terrier, Mutt. Woopets took it over in 2023.
Who won the Palm Dog in 2023? Messi, the Border Collie from Anatomy of a Fall — arguably the most famous Palm Dog winner of recent years.
Is the Palm Dog a real award? Yes. It is unofficial and tongue-in-cheek, but a genuine, long-running Cannes tradition covered by major media every year.
Einstein as Bruno in The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) (2017)
- Joy, the Chihuahua in the Italian film Dogman (2018) was awarded the Palm Dog award.
Complement this with more doggo movies – and some from Bollywood.
After all, they’re the best in the show!