Panda Wins the 2025 Palm Dog Award at Cannes — And a Look-Alike Accepts

 Lola receives the Palm Dog award on-behalf of the dog named Panda, winner of the award for his best canine performance in the film "The Love that Remains" (L'Amour qu'il nous reste) during the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
Lola receives the Palm Dog award on-behalf of the dog named Panda, winner of the award for his best canine performance in the film "The Love that Remains" (L'Amour qu'il nous reste) during the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
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Panda Wins the 2025 Palm Dog Award at Cannes — And a Look-Alike Accepts

 Lola receives the Palm Dog award on-behalf of the dog named Panda, winner of the award for his best canine performance in the film "The Love that Remains" (L'Amour qu'il nous reste) during the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
Lola receives the Palm Dog award on-behalf of the dog named Panda, winner of the award for his best canine performance in the film "The Love that Remains" (L'Amour qu'il nous reste) during the 78th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)

It's called the Palm Dog contest, but Friday's winner of the annual Cannes Film Festival tradition was a Panda.

Panda, though, is an Icelandic sheepdog who stars in “The Love That Remains,” from Icelandic director Hlynur Pálmason. Always positioned at the tail end of the festival, the beachside Palm Dog ceremony comes a day before the winner of the festival's Palme d'Or is announced.

Pálmason's tragicomic film, which premiered at Cannes not in competition, follows five characters — Panda included — over the course of a year after the breakdown of a marriage. Panda is ever-present and very much part of the on-screen family and at the heart of the movie. Panda, who retains her name in the film, is Pálmason's dog and stars alongside his real-life children in the movie, which may explain the award-winning performance.

While Panda sadly could not be there to collect the award, a look-alike local pooch was on hand to collect the coveted dog collar along with one of the film's human producers. Panda did make a virtual appearance with an acceptance video, on a car journey through Iceland. She succeeds last year's winner, Kodi, from “Dog on Trial.”

This year’s awards marked the 25th anniversary of the much-loved event. Palm Dog founder Toby Rose explained that it has had more impact that he could imagine, becoming a fixture at Cannes.

“We honor the four-legged here just so they get a bit of their moment before the big dresses and the tuxedos take over,” Rose said.

Other prizes included the “Mutt Moment” Award, for stealing the scene. This went to a long-haired dachshund and a rottweiler, for their roles in raunchy biker drama “Pillion,” starring Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling.

Finally, the grand jury prize was awarded to mystical Spanish odyssey “Sirât,” for Jack Russell terrier Pipa and Lupita, a Podenco cross. The story follows a father searching for his daughter across the desert, accompanied by his son — and Pipa and Lupita.

Lead actor Jade Oukid was there in person to collect the award alongside director Oliver Laxe. She told the gathered audience that Lupita was her own dog, who had sadly died soon after filming. After the show, Rose added that Lupita would be immortalized with this prize: “We were so happy that we could celebrate a short life.”

The Palm Dog has seen many a famous guest come down to pick up their awards in person. Quentin Tarantino came in person to collect the award in 2019 when Brandy the pit bull in “Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood” won. And, in 2021, Tilda Swinton attended the ceremony to pick up the prize when her own three dogs, Rose, Dora and Snowbear, won the award for their roles in Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir II.”

Some dogs have become mini-celebrities in their own right, including Messi from “Anatomy of a Fall.”



Fans Celebrate ‘Squid Game’ Finale with Seoul Parade

Performers dressed as "Squid Game" soldiers march in a parade through central Seoul, followed by a fan event with cast to celebrate the release of the third season of Netflix's hit series, in Seoul, South Korea, June 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Performers dressed as "Squid Game" soldiers march in a parade through central Seoul, followed by a fan event with cast to celebrate the release of the third season of Netflix's hit series, in Seoul, South Korea, June 28, 2025. (Reuters)
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Fans Celebrate ‘Squid Game’ Finale with Seoul Parade

Performers dressed as "Squid Game" soldiers march in a parade through central Seoul, followed by a fan event with cast to celebrate the release of the third season of Netflix's hit series, in Seoul, South Korea, June 28, 2025. (Reuters)
Performers dressed as "Squid Game" soldiers march in a parade through central Seoul, followed by a fan event with cast to celebrate the release of the third season of Netflix's hit series, in Seoul, South Korea, June 28, 2025. (Reuters)

Thousands of fans gathered in Seoul on Saturday to celebrate the final "Squid Game" season, ending a global Netflix hit that is seen as a symbol of South Korea's cultural clout.

The third and final season was released Friday, concluding the series that sees desperate people compete in deadly versions of traditional children's games for a massive cash prize.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk said he had "poured everything" into the series, which launched nearly four years ago.

"So while it's sentimental to see it end," he said, "there's also a sense of relief".

Fans gathered near Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Palace, led by marchers dressed in the bright pink uniforms worn by the show's mysterious masked agents.

They were followed by others carrying oversize toys from one of the games featured in the series, along with the show's flag.

Park Sang-gyu, a fan who stayed up all night watching the final season, said the dystopian drama was "ultimately a story about people".

"As you watch, you realize it's not just about the games -- it reflects many aspects of real life."

The walls of the Seoul Metropolitan Library were lit up with key scenes, including Young-hee -- the giant motion-sensing animatronic doll featured in one of its brutal games.

Lee Byung-hun, who played the masked Front Man overseeing the competition, said the show had become "something of a cultural phenomenon".

"One that has drawn one of the boldest lines in the history of Korean content," he said.

The first two seasons of the series are among Netflix's most-watched shows, and in 2022, Hwang and the show's leading actor, Lee Jung-jae, became the first Asian men to win Emmy Awards.

The final season follows its hero Gi-hun, played by Lee, as he returns to the ultra-violent games to dismantle them from within after surviving the first round.

Along with filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning 2019 thriller "Parasite" and K-pop sensation BTS, "Squid Game" is considered one of the most powerful examples of South Korea's rise as a global cultural force.