On May 24th at La Plade Du Festival, near the site of the Cannes Film Festival, the 23rd Palm Dog Awards took place. A play on this film festival’s Palme d’Or award, The Palm Dog Awards was founded by Toby Rose and is presented by Woopets.
Palm Dog Winner – Kodi, as Cosmo from Dog on Trial
Kodi, a rescued 9-year-old Griffon mix, won the Palm Dog, for his leading roles as Cosmo in Dog on Trial (Le Procès du Chien). It’s written, directed, and stars human actor Laetitia Dosch, who also insisted Kodi be listed as an actor in the credits (note his name on the poster above).
As Cosmo, Kodi plays the dog of a visually impaired man. Cosmo ends up biting several people, with a more severe attack on a woman. Taking inspiration from real-life trials where humans are charged with the actions of their dog, this movie flips that by putting the dog on trial.
Kodi follows in the paws steps of Messi, the 2023 Palm Dog winner and most famous canine actor working today. At almost 10 years old, Kodi is set to retire after this big win.
Grand Jury Prize – Xiao Xin from Black Dog
A Whippet mix named Xiao Xin won the Grand Jury Prize for his leading role in Black Dog It’s a movie about the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, which saw a government program to remove unwanted animals in preparation for the event.
This program also involved the culling of stray dogs, which includes our titular canine hero. Xin acted alongside the movie’s human lead, Eddie Peng, who also adopted Xin after shooting had wrapped.
“Mutt Moments” Winners
“Mutt Moments” are awards given to other notable canine roles over the last year. This included Chippy from Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, Dave from Andrea Arnold’s Bird, and the dog pack from Yorgos Lanthimos’ Kinds of Kindness.
PalmDogMantarian Award – Demi Moore and her dog Pilaf
A special Dog-mantarian award was presented to Pilaf and her celebrity dog mom Demi Moore (who has an estimated 10 rescues at home). Also last year, Demi Moore endorsed Pilaf for the Guinness World Record for Shortest Dog.
And in case you missed it, check out our feature on Kodi from Dog on Trial.
