After having to surrender his Academy Award during a trans-Atlantic flight, Pavel Talankin, a recent Oscar recipient, faced the loss of his Oscar before the airline eventually located it two days later. Talankin, the co-director of the award-winning documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” was unexpectedly required to check his trophy for a flight from New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport to Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday, following a Transportation Security Administration agent’s directive. According to Talankin’s co-director, David Borenstein, a TSA official deemed the Oscar a potential weapon, leading to it being placed in a box and stowed in the airplane’s cargo hold, where it failed to reach its destination in Frankfurt.
Following Borenstein’s social media post that sparked global concern, Lufthansa airline announced on Friday that the missing Oscar had been located. In a statement, Lufthansa confirmed the recovery of the Oscar and assured that it was securely in their possession in Frankfurt, with arrangements being made for its swift return to Talankin. The airline expressed regret for the inconvenience caused and issued an apology to the owner, mentioning that an internal investigation into the incident was underway.
In March, the documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” co-directed by Talankin and Borenstein, clinched the Academy Award for best documentary, with their acceptance speech being a highlight of the ceremony. Talankin, portrayed as the “Mr. Nobody” in the film, was a schoolteacher in Russia who clandestinely recorded his students promoting Putin’s actions in Ukraine and collaborated with Borenstein in Denmark. Talankin’s impassioned plea on stage, delivered in Russian via a translator, urged for an end to all wars in the name of the future and the children.
The TSA did not immediately respond to inquiries regarding the incident.