"Fuck Ice," "No to war," and "Free Palestine." Already on the red carpet before the gala, several messages were visible on the celebrities' clothes.
Actor Javier Bardem wore a protest pin with the words “No a la guerra” (“No to war”), and when he presented awards on stage, he said:
No to war and liberate Palestine.
Norwegian Joachim Trier, whose film “Sentimental Value” won best international film, quoted author James Baldwin in his acceptance speech. Afterwards, he explained why:
"We've seen children from Palestine, Ukraine and Sudan suffer, and there seems to be no accountability right now," he said, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Russian director Pavel Talankin, whose film “Mr Nobody Against Putin” won best documentary feature, said in his acceptance speech:
"For our future, in the name of all our children, stop all these wars now," he said through an interpreter.
The evening's host, Conan O'Brien, said at the beginning of the gala that "things can get political." In his monologue, he then stated:
"Tonight we celebrate not just film, but the ideals of global artistry, collaboration, patience, resilience and the rarest quality today - optimism."
