After being required to check his Academy Award during a trans-Atlantic flight, Pavel Talankin, a recent Oscar winner, experienced the loss of his statuette before the airline located it two days later. Talankin, who co-directed the award-winning documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” was surprised to have to check his Oscar for a flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday, as a Transportation Security Administration agent deemed it unacceptable for onboard storage.
David Borenstein, Talankin’s co-director, shared on Instagram Thursday night that a TSA agent had considered the Oscar a potential weapon and placed it in a box at the airport since Talankin lacked a suitable bag. Unfortunately, the Oscar did not make it to Frankfurt as expected.
Following Borenstein’s social media post that drew international attention, Lufthansa airline announced on Friday that they had located the missing Oscar. In a statement, Lufthansa confirmed the safe retrieval of the Oscar and expressed apologies for the inconvenience caused, assuring that arrangements were underway for its prompt return to Talankin.
Lufthansa also mentioned that an internal investigation was ongoing to review the circumstances of the incident.
In March, “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” secured the Academy Award for best documentary, with Talankin and Borenstein’s acceptance speech being a highlight of the ceremony. Talankin, featured as the “Mr. Nobody” in the film, documented his students’ activities in support of Putin’s actions in Ukraine, eventually collaborating with Borenstein in Denmark after smuggling hard drives out of Russia.
During his acceptance speech, Talankin, speaking through a translator, appealed for an end to wars for the sake of the future and children. The TSA had not responded to inquiries as of Friday.
