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The winners of this year’s Dog Oscars have been announced!

Cannes’ Palm Dog Awards announces 2024’s top pooch performers

Phil de Semlyen
Written by
Phil de Semlyen
Global film editor
Black Dog
Photograph: Cannes Film FestivalLittle Xin co-starring with Eddie Peng in ‘Black Dog’
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For 23 years, Cannes’s Palm Dog Awards have been celebrating the finest in pooch performances over the course of the world’s most famous film fest.

Always a fun shindig full of top doggos, it’s become a key part of the festival, with 2023 Palm Dog winner, Anatomy of a Fall’s Messi, going on to become a Hollywood awards season icon. 

Messi was not up for this year’s Palm Dog – the border collie is currently perusing scripts and taking meetings (we think) – but there were still plenty of virtuoso turns to celebrate from this year’s waggly thesps.

Dog on Trial
Photograph: Cannes Film FestivalKodi with Lætitia Dosch in ‘Dog on Trial’


The big winner, carrying the Palm Dog back to its home and presumably burying it in the garden, was Kodi, the star of Lætitia Dosch’s Swiss-French comedy Dog on Trial. Kodi, a griffon, plays Cosmos, an aggressive dog facing legal action who bonds with his defence attorney (Dosch).

The Palm Dog
Photograph: Anna Smith/The Palm DogWinners Little Xin and Kodi on stage

The Grand Jury Prize went to Little Xin, the star of Chinese drama Black Dog. The canine actor, who shares the screen – and a motorcycle sidecar – with Taiwanese superstar Eddie Peng in Guan Hu’s rural fable.

The first Palm Dog, post-Messi, was standing room only
Photograph: Kaleem AftabThe first Palm Dog Awards, post-Messi, was standing room only

Peng plays a government employee charged with removing stray dogs from his hometown ahead of the Olympic Games, who falls under the adorable mutt’s scruffy spell.

The best films of 2024 (so far).

Looking for more pooch performances? Check out the 30 best animal movies to watch.

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