PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM AWARDS TO HONOR LEONARDO DICAPRIO WITH
THE DESERT PALM ACHIEVEMENT AWARD, ACTOR
Palm Springs, CA (November 18, 2025) – The Palm Springs International Film Awards has announced that Leonardo DiCaprio is the recipient of the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, for his performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another. The Film Awards will take place on January 3, 2026, at the Palm Springs Convention Center, with the festival running January 2-12, 2026. The event will be presented by Kering and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight.
“In One Battle After Another, Leonardo DiCaprio delivers a riveting and emotionally charged performance, embodying a man pushed to his breaking point in the face of relentless adversity,” said Festival Chairman Nachhattar Singh Chandi. “Across his career, DiCaprio has continually redefined what is possible in screen acting—bringing emotional depth, artistic integrity, and fearless commitment to every role. It is our honor to present him with the Desert Palm Achievement Award, Actor, in recognition of his enduring influence and exceptional body of work.”
DiCaprio joins this year’s previously announced honorees Michael B. Jordan (Icon Award), Adam Sandler (Chairman’s Award) and Sentimental Value cast members Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, and Elle Fanning (International Star Award). Past actor recipients of the Desert Palm Achievement Award include Riz Ahmed (Sound of Metal), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Adrien Brody (The Brutalist), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Colin Farrell (The Banshees of Inisherin), Colin Firth (The King’s Speech), Andrew Garfield (Tick, Tick... Boom!), Matthew McConaughey (Dallas Buyers Club), Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer), Gary Oldman (Mank), Sean Penn (Milk), Brad Pitt (Moneyball) and Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything). In the years they were honored, Bridges, Brody, Day-Lewis, McConaughey, Murphy, Oldman, Penn and Redmayne went on to win the Academy Award® for Best Actor, while Ahmed, Cooper, Driver, Garfield, Farrell, Firth and Pitt received Best Actor Oscar® nominations.
From Warner Bros. Pictures comes One Battle After Another, written, directed and produced by Paul Thomas Anderson follows Washed-up revolutionary Bob (DiCaprio) who exists in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off- grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). When his evil nemesis (Sean Penn) resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.
Leonardo DiCaprio is an Academy Award award-winning actor who has been recognized for his work as an actor, producer, and activist. He has been nominated for seven Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, eleven Screen Actors Guild Awards and thirteen Golden Globe Awards. In 2015, he won his first Academy Award for Best Actor as well as the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama and BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Hugh Glass in the film The Revenant. He has earned critical acclaim for roles in films like Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Wolf of Wall Street, Inception, The Great Gatsby, and Django Unchained, alongside his work with director Martin Scorsese on films such as The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, Gangs of New York, and Killers of the Flower Moon. DiCaprio’s film career began in the early 1990s with standout performances in This Boy’s Life and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, the latter earning him his first Academy Award nomination. In addition to acting, DiCaprio co-founded the production company Appian Way, alongside Jennifer Davisson, which has backed critically acclaimed films such as The Aviator, The Revenant, and The Wolf of Wall Street. The company has also put forth strong efforts to gain headway in the documentary world, especially as it pertains to progressive environmental change, producing films such as Path of the Panther, We Are Guardians, Virunga, Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, Sea of Shadows, and Ice on Fire. Outside of his film work, DiCaprio is the founding board member of Re:wild, a brand with the goal of protecting and restoring the diversity of life on Earth through innovative collaborations among individuals, communities, Indigenous peoples, governments, scientists and businesses to drive the most pressing nature-based solutions to our planet’s urgent crises.
About the Palm Springs International Film Society
The Palm Springs International Film Society is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization whose mission is to cultivate and promote the art and science of film through education and cross-cultural awareness. The Film Society produces the Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) and Film Awards every January and Palm Springs ShortFest in June. In addition to curating the best in international cinema, PSIFF’s Film Awards has come to be known as the first stop on the campaign trail for the Academy Awards®, and our Oscar®-qualifying ShortFest is the largest short film festival and market in North America. Our festivals, year-round member screenings and educational programs manifest our organization’s mission by nurturing and encouraging new filmmaking talent, honoring the great masters of world cinema, and expanding audience horizons. The City of Palm Springs is the title sponsor of both festivals. The Film Awards are presented by Kering and sponsored by Entertainment Tonight.
About Kering
Kering is a global, family-led luxury group, home to people whose passion and expertise nurture creative Houses across couture and ready-to-wear, leather goods, jewelry, eyewear and beauty: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, Dodo, Qeelin, Ginori 1735, as well as Kering Eyewear and Kering Beauté. Inspired by their creative heritage, Kering Houses design and craft exceptional products and experiences that reflect the Group’s commitment to excellence, sustainability and culture. This vision is expressed in our signature: Creativity is our Legacy.
Kering's commitment to women is at the heart of the Group's priorities and, through Women In Motion, extends to the arts and culture, where gender inequalities persist, even though creation is one of the most powerful vectors for change. A pioneering program, Women In Motion highlights the talent and diversity of the voices shaping the artistic world, providing a space for dialogue and action, in order to continue promoting the recognition and influence of women in creation.
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