Russian director Pavel Talankin's Oscar statuette for the documentary 'Mr Nobody Against Putin' has been found after it went missing from a flight bound from JFK airport in New York to Frankfurt, Germany, according to a Lufthansa Airlines spokesperson, as reported by Variety.
The Oscar went missing on Wednesday after Talankin, who co-directed the documentary with David Borenstein and is also the film's protagonist, was stopped from taking it on board a plane bound for Frankfurt by a security official at New York's John F Kennedy airport. The agent argued that the statuette could be used as a weapon and would have to go in the hold. Since Talankin did not have a bag for the hold, the Oscar was placed in a cardboard box. However, when he arrived in Germany, the Oscar was gone.
Lufthansa Confirms Recovery
"The Oscar statue has now been located and is safely in our care in Frankfurt," Lufthansa told Variety, adding that the airline was in direct contact with Talankin to reunite him with his Oscar "as quickly as possible."
"We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and have apologised to the owner. The careful and secure handling of our guests' belongings is of the utmost importance to us. An internal review of the circumstances is ongoing," said Lufthansa as quoted by Variety.
Producer Details Incident
On Thursday, producer Borenstein posted about the incident on Instagram. "Yesterday [Talankin] arrived at JFK ready to fly home to Europe, carrying the Oscar as a carry-on. At the airport, a Transportation Security Administration agent stopped him and said the Oscar could be used as a weapon. She wouldn't let him carry it on board," wrote Borenstein.
He explained that Robin Hessman, one of the film's executive producers, "got on the phone and tried to reason with the agent, but it didn't work." He added, "Pavel didn't have a bag to check it in, so the TSA put the Oscar in a box and sent it to the bottom of the plane. It never arrived in Frankfurt."
Borenstein questioned, "I've looked and I can't find a single other case of someone being forced to check an Oscar. Would Pavel have been treated the same way if he were a famous actor? Or a fluent English speaker?"
About the Documentary
Earlier this year, 'Mr Nobody Against Putin' emerged victorious at the BAFTA and Oscars. The documentary revolves around a Russian teacher who secretly documents his small town school's transformation into a war recruitment centre during the Ukraine invasion, revealing the ethical dilemmas educators face amid propaganda and militarisation. The lead actor in the film, Pavel Talankin, who recorded the footage during the war, also attended the award ceremony. While accepting the award, director David Borenstein credited Pavel for showing courage in telling his story during one of the toughest times of his life.
