Panda named top dog at the Cannes Film Festival

Panda, an Icelandic sheepdog, won the Palm Dog award at the Cannes Film Festival last week for her best canine performance in the film The Love that Remains. The Icelandic family drama follows five characters — Panda included — over the course of a year after a marriage breaks down. This year’s awards marked the 25th anniversary of the much-loved event. Palm Dog founder Toby Rose said it has had more impact than he could imagine, becoming a fixture at the event in Cannes, France.

Class discussion: Should dogs and other animal actors be honored for their roles? Can you name any movies or television series named after animal actors? How important are animals to developing film plots and characters? Panda is the pet of the director and his real-life children, who acted in the movie. Her acting may have come naturally, but is that true for most animal actors? Do animal actors train as much as their human colleagues? What dog reportedly received the most Best Actor votes for the first Academy Awards?