In the panoply of awards ceremonies set for this weekend, the Fidos may well be the “best in show”. The doggy Oscars, or the showbiz Crufts – take your pick – take place on Sunday evening in a star- and collar-studded event that concludes on the same day as both of its more established rivals.
The battle for the coveted Best in World award – an embossed collar – for the greatest on-screen dog performance is expected to be fierce, but the favourite is Messi the border collie who played Snoop in Anatomy of a Fall. He faces competition from Barbie’s incontinent labrador, Josephine’s pomeranian in Napoleon and dogs owned by Tilda Swinton and Sandra Hüller.
The Fidos were founded by film journalist Toby Rose in 2007, and in a sign of the growing seriousness with which the world of showbiz takes animal co-stars, the awards are being held for the first time at the British Film Institute.
There are even indications that some of the lavish campaigning that has become a hallmark of the Oscars is starting to spill over into the Fidos. In February, Messi’s bid for the top award received a huge boost when he was flown to Los Angeles from his French home to mingle with Hollywood’s glitterati.
He had lunch with Bradley Cooper and Billie Eilish, plaudits from Emma Stone and an encounter with Ryan Gosling that went viral online. Messi’s film role, as assistance dog to a visually impaired boy who is the only witness to his father’s death, includes a scene when the dog almost dies. At one point Messi reprised his performance so realistically that Gosling rushed over to help.
Still, the route to Fidos success is no walk in the park – the judges are considering other strong performances, including Lola the mongrel’s central role as Marra in Ken Loach’s The Old Oak and Tilda Swinton’s springer spaniel Louis, who starred with his owner in The Eternal Daughter.
Of the other five categories, Historical Hound is one to watch for the dogs playing Honey, Elvis Presley’s own hound dog in Priscilla, and Fortuné, the empress Josephine’s pomeranian in Napoleon. Hüller’s own weimeraner is another nominee, as Dilla in The Zone of Interest.
Meanwhile the Comedy Canine collar may well go to Reggie, the border terrier voiced by Will Ferrell in Strays and later adopted by director Josh Greenbaum, although none of the other dogs in the film, about four mutts taking revenge on an abusive owner, managed a nomination.
“This year, competition for the Fidos has been the most intense ever,” Rose said. “Who knows why? It’s beyond our ken. And Barbie hasn’t got a clue either.”
