Palm Dog Cannes (2007)

28 May 07

Running ahead of the Palm D’Or Film festival at Cannes (France) comes the Palm Dog Award for canine contributions to the international film community.

Last year’s winner was a sweet Pug called Mops who featured in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. This year the award was shared between Yuki, a cartoon canine who featured in an animalted film, and two real dogs.

Agence France-Presse reported on 26 May 2007 that two red Thai dogs and a two-dimensional black and white Austrian mutt shared the honour of being ‘Palm Dog’ at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. All three dogs were presented with handsome dog collars with ‘PALM DOG’ stiched onto them.

Yuki, a cartoon dog from Persepolis, a French-Iranian animation in competition for the Palme d’Or, was named co-winner of the hounds-only trophy. Originally published to critical acclaim in France, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s funny and heartbreaking memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.

In powerful black-and-white comic strip images, Satrapi tells the story of her life in Tehran from the age of six to fourteen. Her childhood covered years that saw the overthrow of the Shah’s regime, the triumph of the Islamic Revolution and the devastating effects of war with Iraq. As an intelligent and outspoken only child of committed Marxists as well as being the great-granddaughter of one of Iran’s last emperors, Marjane and Yuki’s story bears witness to a childhood uniquely entwined with the history of her country.

Keng and Peak, the two real dog actors seen in a Thai film called Mid Road Gang, will have the honour of wearing their collars, which they picked up alongside Yuki. At the actual ceremony the directors of the films collected the Palm Dog awards on behalf of the four-legged laureates.

Palm Dog awards started in 2001 when a showbiz hound called Mutley enlisted some friends to help create this unique international film award dedicated to the dog stars of the acting world. In 2001 Oscar-nominated Jennifer Jason Leigh accepted the first Palm Dog award on behalf of her co-star and housemate Otis. The Palm Dog award is discerned by a jury of top international film critics under the presidency of Mutley.

A similar awards ceremony in honour of houndishness is the Barkers. The first-ever Barkers was held at the Rex cinema, Leicester Square, London, on Monday June 19 2006. The glittering event was hosted by the organizers of the prestigious annual Palm Dog Award presented in Cannes.

SuperWoof to Yuki, Keng and Peak!

SuperWoof to Mutley and the Palm Dog!

Awoof! Archie