Leonardo DiCaprio was a surprise no-show at the Palm Springs International Film Awards. The actor was unable to attend the awards due to the restricted airspace resulting from the current conflict in Venezuela. DiCaprio was being honored with the Desert Palm Achievement Award at the ceremony.

But despite not being able to attend in person, DiCaprio provided a recorded message, which was played during the ceremony. The message was preceded by a tribute from DiCaprio’s co-stars on One Battle After Another, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti. DiCaprio began the message by saying, “I’m stuck on the East Coast. I wish I were there to celebrate with all of you. I’m truly grateful to be a part of it even from the distance.”

DiCaprio goes on to pay tribute to Paul Thomas Anderson in the message, saying, “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.” He also begins telling the story of what first connected him to movies and storytelling by saying:

“My father used to take me to the movies at the Vista Theater in Los Angeles. I lived four blocks away, and it’s now home to one of the last VistaVision projectors on earth. It was my neighborhood theater, it was where I first felt the power of cinema, and sitting in that dark room with my father, watching something bigger than myself, I realized how deeply movies can affect all of us.”

DiCaprio then goes on to connect this story with One Battle After Another, which was shot primarily with VistaVision cameras. DiCaprio states that the crew on One Battle shot in on VistaVision, “not out of nostalgia, but out of a belief, a belief in scale and texture, and in the idea that movies are still meant to be experienced together in a theater.” DiCaprio then uses that statement to transition into championing original films in the current movie landscape. “Right now, that belief matters more than ever, he says, “Original films are harder to make and harder to protect, but movies still matter. Not content, but cinema. Stories made by people meant to be shared in a dark room in a communal experience.”

One Battle After Another is currently streaming on HBO Max.