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| Nellie in Paterson |
She was the star of Jim Jarmusch's Paterson and now she's the toast of Cannes, but there's a bittersweet side to Nellie's victory in this year's Palm Dog race, because she's no longer around to enjoy her prize. Nellie passed away two months ago. There to speak on her behalf was producer Carter Logan.
"We looked at a lot of tape, and when we saw her, we knew she was the one. She had a unique voice and was able to express herself," he said of the star, who had to work extra hard to get the part because her character, Marvin, is male, so the casting team was originally looking for a male dog. Unlike most canine actors, she wasn't trained in the profession from infancy but began later in life after being abandoned and rescued. Logan asked people to consider adopting dogs in her memory.
The Jury Prize went to local boy Jacques, a spirited dalmation, for his work in In Bed With Victoria. Ken Loach received a special Palm DogManitarian award for consistently casting three legged dogs in his films, including Shae, who starred in I, Daniel Blake, his entry in this year's festival.
