DHAKA: Dogs triumphed in Cannes as Hungarian canine thriller ‘White God’ won the film festival’s prestigious prize for innovative work, just hours after its four-legged stars scooped up the unofficial Palm Dog award for pooch talent.

The latest film by Hungarian director Kornel Mundruczo beat Ryan Gosling’s widely panned directorial debut and 18 other movies to take top honours in the Un Certain Regard competition, which seeks to recognise new talent or encourage innovative, daring work.

‘White God’ was just that, according to critics, sending viewers on a strange dystopian ride, with the plot centred on Hagen, a gentle, golden-furred mongrel who is denigrated by every human being except his devoted, 13-year-old owner Lili.

When the lonely girl finds herself staying with her father after her mother travels abroad, problems abound, and Lili’s dad ends up abandoning the dog on the side of a highway, reports The Straits Times.

BDST: 1424 HRS, MAY 24, 2014