Cannes 2024: Kodi wins the Palm Dog thanks to Trial of the Dog

Kodi takes over from Messi, who became an international star thanks to the success of Anatomy of a Fall.

On all fours, or two, everyone is entitled to their quarter of an hour of glory on the Croisette. An adage that the Palm Dog has once again proven to us, this award created in 2001 by Toby Rose in partnership with Woopets to reward each year the best canine interpretation of a film presented at the Cannes Film Festival.

Last year it was Messi who knew how to melt the hearts of the Jury, thanks to his poignant performance in Anatomy of a fall, Palme d’Or of this edition of the festival. Since then, he has toured the world, even going so far as to participate in the Oscars ceremony last March, before returning to climb the steps of Cannes. Once he had come full circle, he was ready to give up his place to another canine.

And it’s Kodi who gets the crown – or rather, the necklace – from the Palm Dog Woopets. This Griffon cross is the star of the first feature film of Laetitia Dosch, The Trial of the Dog. He shares the bill with the actress and director who plays the real main role of the film, but also with François Damiens, Pierre Deladonchamps, Jean-Pascal Zadi, Anne Dorval, Anabela Moreira And Matthew Demy.

In The Trial of the Dog, Avril (Laetitia Dosch), lawyer, promises to win her next case. Except that she sees yet another indefensible case coming: Darius (François Damiens), visually impaired, brings her his dog, Cosmos (Kodi), who risks euthanasia after attacking a woman. A “artwork (which) questions us about our relationship with animals and the place given to them in society”specifies the Palm Dog press release.

The competition was tough this year, The Trial of the Dog not being the only canine film to be presented at Cannes this year. The Chinese filmmaker Guan Hu thus proposes the story of Lang (Eddie Peng), former prisoner enlisted in a patrol supposed to rid the city of stray dogs, but who befriends one of them. Black Dogpresented in Un Certain Regard, was awarded the Palm Dog Grand Prix.

If Guan Hu's film does not yet have a French release date, the prowess of Kodi will be available to discover from September 11, 2024, the release day of Dog Trial.

Messi, the dog from Anatomy of a Fall, will interview the stars of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival!