Remember when Leonardo DiCaprio finally nabbed his first Academy Award back in February? What a time to be alive. Confetti shot out of people’s sinks, everyone had two weeks off work and all the animals on the globe were given the power of speech for 24 hours to strictly say “awesome job, bro!” We might be remembering things a little bit differently than how they went down, but it was still one of those megawatt Oscar moments that fill our bellies with good feelings.
Leo’s Best Actor Oscar is pretty swell, but this year he received another prize for his trophy case that might rival it on a sentimental scale. (The Golden Globe? HA! C’mon, dude.) It’s a special one-of-a-kind prize crafted in the far east of Russia as the brainchild of a group of filmmakers and was able to come alive thanks to the involvement of the community. It’s a unique honor that DiCaprio showcased on Instagram and Facebook with a sense of pride.
Thank you to the people of Yakutia for this wonderful gift, especially all of the women who gathered and donated the materials that went into creating the statue. As they wrote in their letter, Yakutia is home to the coldest inhabited place not only in Russia, but also on Earth – and the region is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Rising temperatures pose a major threat to its people, their way of life and their natural habitat.
In the planning stages well ahead of DiCaprio grabbing his “classic” Oscar, The Washington Post noted in early February that construction of this statuette includes donated jewellery from women supporting the project. Those that donated their fancy wares were encouraged to keep half so one half would be with the 41-year-old acting titan and the other half would be with them. (It also could be the plot of an excellent action movie where DiCaprio is reunited with an estranged family member using enchanted jewellery in a bid to fight a ruthless energy baron.) The gift also features the notable tweak of removing the familiar Oscar sword with a “Choron” in its place to symbolize peace.
Ideally, we’ll get a mural out of this Oscar triumph too.
(via People & The Washington Post)
