Chile’s “La Perra” wins top Palm Dog award at Cannes

The Chilean film “La Perra” has won the top prize at the Palm Dog awards, the annual celebration of canine performances at the Cannes Film Festival. The award was presented Friday at a beachfront ceremony attended by journalists, dog lovers, and numerous canine guests.

The film’s director, Dominga Sotomayor, accepted the award, a coveted leather dog collar. She explained that the film’s central dog character, Yuri, was portrayed by two rescue animals. One played the puppy and another the adult dog. Sotomayor said the dogs were not professionally trained, making the process of working with them a wild experience. She stated that she aimed to create a film where the dogs were not merely plot devices but characters in their own right, adding that she considered them the heart of the project.

A notable theme emerged as both of the ceremony’s top awards were given to female dog characters in films directed by women. The Palm Dog Jury Prize was awarded to Lola, a border terrier cross from the British film “I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning.” That film, which follows a group of friends from a Birmingham tower block navigating adulthood, also recently won the Directors’ Fortnight...