Messi the dog comes to Cannes for an encore
The first star to arrive on the red carpet at the 77th Cannes Film Festival came on four legs
Messi the dog comes to Cannes for an encore
Show all 5Your support helps us to tell the story
This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.
The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.
Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.
The first star to arrive on the red carpet at the 77th Cannes Film Festival came on four legs.
Messi, the dog from the film “Anatomy of a Fall,” walked up and down the Cannes carpet on Tuesday ahead of the opening ceremony. Lines of tuxedo-clad photographers called out “Messi! Messi” while the border collie strolled past and climbed the stairs to the Palais des Festivals. There, he sat and held his front paws up in the air, like a movie star waving to the crowd.
For some 20 minutes, Messi had Cannes' complete attention while frolicking on the carpet. His bark echoed down the Croisette. The red carpet went unsoiled.
For Messi, it was a kind of return to the scene of the crime. Justine Triet's murder mystery “Anatomy of a Fall” last year premiered in Cannes where it went on to win the festival's top award, the Palme d'Or. Messi — Snoop in the film — won the Palme Dog, a journalist-created prize for the festival's top dog.
And as “Anatomy of a Fall,” in which the dog's perspective holds certain keys to the whodunit, continued through awards season, Messi emerged as Hollywood's favorite new pooch and a particularly cuddly Oscar campaign prop. He attended both the academy luncheon of nominees and the Oscar ceremony. “Anatomy of a Fall” won best original screenplay.
Messi isn't in Cannes just for an encore bow/bone. The festival is shooting daily one-minute videos of Messi for French television that will be collected for a TikTok video. On Tuesday, he carried a camera stick in his teeth.
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.