Four-legged Messi became the star of the opening of the Cannes Film Festival

runways in Cannes/AP

The first star to walk the red carpet at the 77th Cannes Film Festival arrived on all fours. It is about the charming dog Messi, who has already become a real star.

Messi's dog from the film “Anatomy of the Fall” walked the Cannes runway on Tuesday, May 13, before the opening ceremony of the festival, writes The Washington Post.

Lines of tuxedo-clad photographers chanted: “Messi! Messi!” as the border collie walked past them and up the stairs to the Palace of Festivals. There he sat down and raised his front paws up like a movie star waving to the crowd.

For about 20 minutes, Messi got all the attention of Cannes, playing on the carpet. His bark echoed along the Croisette. The red carpet remained uncontaminated.

Messi playfully waved his paws: watch the video

For Messi, it was a kind of return to the scene of the crime. Last year, the premiere of Justine Trier's film “Anatomy of the Fall” took place in Cannes, which received the main award of the festival – the Palme d'Or. Messi – Snoop in the movie – received the “Palm Dog”, a prize created by journalists for the best dog of the festival.

And since “Anatomy of the Fall”, in which the dog's gaze holds certain clues to solving the mystery that lasted throughout the awards season, Messi became Hollywood's favorite new dog and a particularly cute prop for the Oscar campaign. He was present both at the Academy Award nominees' luncheon and at the award ceremony. “Anatomy of the Fall” won the award for the best original screenplay.

Messi is in Cannes not only for the encore bow. At the festival, one-minute videos featuring Messi are filmed daily for French television, which will then be compiled into videos for TikTok. On Tuesday, he held the camera in his teeth.