Palm Dog 2026 runners and riders and rovers, by Toby Rose

The Cannes 2026 Opening Night red carpet saw multiple nods to Palm Dog. Demi Moore - PalmDogManitarian 2024 winner  - was a focus of feverish attention. Another diva presence on the hallowed Marches was Dame Joan Collins in town with biopic, The Duchess. The grande dame plays the Duchess of Windsor and stars alongside three pugs, a canine turn which caught the eye of the Palm Dog jury.There is certainly no shortage of canine talent at Cannes 2026. Among the contenders is Clio Bernard’s I see tall buildings fall like lightening. A cute terrier cross is an integral part of the life of one of the main characters. The dog is credited with an instrumental role. Karma features two named dogs. Rolo - a shaggy sandy pooch and Popeye, a lovely Alsatian - who gets not just one but two closeups. Bruno Durant’s Red Rocks features 4 four legged actors. Goodbye Cruel World has a fluffy Labrador who tracks down a youngster by sniffing them out from under a hotel door. Significantly a Cannes Classic has brought a dog to the attention of the jury. The aptly named Cutie is the canine star of The Dull-Ice Flower. “Cutie is not simply a charming companion in the story. Throughout the film, he remains close to the young protagonist, quietly becoming part of his emotional world, his imagination, and even his drawings.  In many tender and funny moments, Cutie helps reveal the boy’s innocence, loneliness, affection, and way of seeing the world.” gushes the PR burb - for once not exaggerating the significance of a leading player.Already the dog in La Perra is making waves. Yuri is a key component of this Chilean official selection. On a remote, wind-lashed island off the Chilean coast, Silvia earns her living harvesting seaweed and shares a quiet life with her partner. When she adopts a stray puppy, Yuri, her days fill with joy, love, anda tenderness that stirs a long-suppressed longing for motherhood.But Yuri’s sudden disappearance reawakens a haunting childhoodtrauma, forcing Silvia to confront a past she has never truly left behind. A central role which puts Yuri among the leading contenders for an award.Whoever scoops the trophy collar will find themselves thrust into the global spotlight as sidebar event Palm Dog gains ever more attention. Palm Dog is annually bestowed and stars that have collected for their canine stars include Quentin Tarantino, Demi Moore and Ken Loach. First winner was Otis in The Anniversary Party, whose award was accepted by actress Jennifer Jason Leigh at the Carlton Hotel. Since then, the Palm Dog has become a cult Cannes institution.From the start the event has been judged by leading international film critics including critic Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian.This team of celluloid pioneers have gathered down the years to discern the best canine performance which screened – all categories included – at the Cannes Film Festival. The event has grown in popularity and is now the must see event for fun lovers on the last Friday of the annual Riviera film fiesta.And, as a measure of the place it has gained in hearts each year, a celebrity poses with the collar to spread the work and endorse the fun and four-legged games. Over the years stars who have cradled the celebrated Palm Dog collar for the camera have included Oscar winning director Sean Baker, Antoine de Caunes, Charlotte Rampling, Christian Lacroix, Tilda Swinton and, of course, Quentin Tarantino.Carrying a message of acknowledgement and respect, the Palm Dog Awards have been bestowed at Cannes since 2001 to recognize the best canine performance in the festival’s Official Selection. One contender for Palm Dog 2026 is not so much 4 legged as 12 legged. Revered Dame Joan Collins is cast alongside not one but three dogs - three pugs. The Duchess focuses on the final years of the Duchess of Windsor’s life (the 1970s and 1980s) following the death of her husband, the Duke of Windsor.  It highlights her decline into dementia and her complex and controlling relationship with her lawyer, Suzanne Blum. The Duchess’s three pugs were a comfort a support in her declining years. Wallis’ best friends.