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Border Collie Messi arrives at Cannes Film Festival

He’s already starred in an Oscar-winning film and rubbed shoulders with the stars at the awards ceremony.

And this Border Collie showed he was rather comfortable with his new lifestyle as he posed on the red carpet at Cannes last night.

Messi, star of Anatomy of a Fall, became the first dog to tread the strip in the South of France last night. 

Not dissimilar to his celebrity friends, he stood on two legs on the red carpet and appeared to wave to the crowd – using his paws.

Messi, eight, was carrying a selfie stick and camera between his teeth to film TikTok videos for the festival.

He's already starred in an Oscar-winning film and rubbed shoulders with the stars at the awards ceremony

He’s already starred in an Oscar-winning film and rubbed shoulders with the stars at the awards ceremony

And this Border Collie showed he was rather comfortable with his new lifestyle as he posed on the red carpet at Cannes last night

And this Border Collie showed he was rather comfortable with his new lifestyle as he posed on the red carpet at Cannes last night

At the event Messi was seen with cinema dog trainer Laura Martin Contini who wore a stylish light grey dress

At the event Messi was seen with cinema dog trainer Laura Martin Contini who wore a stylish light grey dress

He rose to fame after playing Snoop, a guide dog, in French murder mystery Anatomy of a Fall, which won Best Screenplay at this year’s Oscars

At the event Messi was seen with his owner and cinema dog trainer Laura Martin Contini who wore a stylish light grey dress.

Justine Triet’s murder mystery Anatomy of a Fall premiered last year in Cannes where it went on to win the festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or. 

Messi won the Palm Dog, a journalist-created prize for the festival’s top dog.

Aside from Messi, Tuesday evening was all about Léa Seydoux as her latest film was given the honour of opening the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival on the French Riviera. 

The actress, who takes a starring role in new release The Second Act (Le Deuxième Acte), was supported by a host of stars as the worlds of film, music and fashion descended on the resort town for two weeks of red carpet celebrations. 

Supermodel Heidi Klum, Léa’s French compatriot Eva Green, director Greta Gerwig and Oscar winning Hollywood legend Meryl Streep were among those on hand to toast the film’s official launch. 

But it was Léa‘s night and the actress stunned in a sweeping silver sequinned gown after joining the new film’s cast and crew on the red carpet. 

Messi, star of Anatomy of a Fall, became the first dog to tread the strip in the South of France last night

Messi, star of Anatomy of a Fall, became the first dog to tread the strip in the South of France last night

He rose to fame after playing Snoop, a guide dog, in French murder mystery Anatomy of a Fall, which won Best Screenplay at this year's Oscars

He rose to fame after playing Snoop, a guide dog, in French murder mystery Anatomy of a Fall, which won Best Screenplay at this year’s Oscars 

She completed the look with a pair of matching silver heels, while a tasteful choker necklace served as her only notable accessory. 

Elsewhere, adding a touch of old school Hollywood glamour to proceedings, Meryl Streep opted for simple white evening gown on what transpired to be special night for the Oscar-winning actress. 

The ceremony opened with the presentation of an honorary Palme d’Or for Meryl  and the unveiling of Greta Gerwig’s jury, as the French Riviera spectacular kicked off a potentially volatile 77th edition.

A 10-day stream of stars began flowing down the Cannes red carpet with the opening night film, The Second Act, a French comedy starring Lea, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel and Raphael Quenard.

They play squabbling actors filming a movie directed by an artificial intelligence.

The festival’s first lengthy standing ovation, though, went to Meryl, who was awarded an honorary Palme d’Or during Tuesday’s opening ceremony.

After Juliette Binoche introduced her, the actress alternatively shook her head, fanned herself and danced while the crowd thunderously cheered.

‘I’m just so grateful that you haven’t gotten sick of my face and you haven’t gotten off of the train,’ she said, who soon thereafter declared Cannes officially open with Juliette.

‘My mother, who is usually right about everything, said to me: ‘Meryl, my darling, you’ll see. It all goes so fast. So fast’, added Meryl.

Messi, eight, was carrying a selfie stick and camera between his teeth to film TikTok videos for the festival

Messi, eight, was carrying a selfie stick and camera between his teeth to film TikTok videos for the festival

Messi posed with owner Laura and a group of other guests at the premiere

Messi posed with owner Laura and a group of other guests at the premiere 

He looked like he was having a great time at the event

He looked like he was having a great time at the event

He had the camera gear attached to his body too

He had the camera gear attached to his body too 

He made headline earlier this years at The Oscars where he sat in the audience

He made headline earlier this years at The Oscars where he sat in the audience

Justine Triet's murder mystery Anatomy of a Fall premiered last year in Cannes where it went on to win the festival's top award, the Palme d'Or

Justine Triet’s murder mystery Anatomy of a Fall premiered last year in Cannes where it went on to win the festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or

‘And it has, and it does. Except for my speech, which is too long.’ 

The reception was nearly as rapturous for Gerwig, the first American female filmmaker to serve as president of the Cannes jury that will decide the festival’s top award, the Palme d’Or.

Thierry Fremaux, Cannes’ artistic director, on Monday praised her as ‘the ideal director’ for Cannes, given her work across arthouse and studio film and her interest in cinema history.

And, Fremaux said: ‘We very much liked Barbie.’