Leonardo DiCaprio misses Palm Springs Gala due to Venezuela air restrictions, accepts award virtually

Leonardo DiCaprio did not attend the Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala on Saturday night, as he was unable to travel due to airspace restrictions due to the developing geopolitical situation in Venezuela.

Leonardo DiCaprio misses Palm Springs Awards amid travel chaos

The star was scheduled to receive the prestigious Desert Palm Achievement Award for his performance in ‘One Battle After Another’ directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. The movie had already created waves of success in the early stages of its release, having won the best picture award from the National Society of Film Critics. The movie also earned a nomination for the best actor award at the upcoming Critics’ Choice Awards.

Reports claim that the actor was in St. Barts, celebrating the New Year with his friends and family, but was unable to leave due to the airway restrictions.

An official statement from a representative for the event confirmed DiCaprio’s absence from the gala. It said that Leonardo DiCaprio will not be able to attend the Gala due to unforeseen travel disruptions due to restricted airspace.

The One Battle After Another star accepted the Desert Palm Achievement Award during a starry virtual ceremony. After accepting his award, he turned his attention to Paul Thomas Anderson, “thank you for inviting all of us into something bold and original, for never settling and for trusting the process enough to let the work become what it needed to be.”

Leonardo continued as he recalled when he first fell in love with storytelling on screen. “My father used to take me to the movies in the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles. I lived four blocks away, and now it is home to one of the last Vistavision projectors on earth”

DiCaprio further mentioned that they shot One Battle After Another on VistaVision, “not out of nostalgia but out of belief, a belief in scale and texture and in the idea that movies are still meant to be experienced together in a theatre”

The Palm Springs International Gala proceeded as scheduled, with various other high-profile stars and figures in the industry. According to sources, the list of attendees included Kate Hudson, Timothee Chalamet, Rose Byron, Michael B Jordan, Adam Sandler, Ethan Hawke, Jessie Buckley, among others.

(Story by Anoushka Nag)

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