After an incident where Pavel Talankin, the recent Academy Award winner for co-directing the documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” had to check his Oscar statuette for a trans-Atlantic flight, the award went missing. Talankin was informed by a TSA agent at New York’s JFK Airport that the Oscar couldn’t be carried onboard due to security concerns, and it was placed in the plane’s cargo hold for the flight to Frankfurt, Germany. However, upon arrival, the Oscar was nowhere to be found.
Following an uproar on social media led by Talankin’s co-director David Borenstein, the airline Lufthansa announced on Friday that the missing Oscar had been located. The airline assured that the award was safe and in their possession in Frankfurt, and they were working to return it to Talankin promptly, expressing regret for the inconvenience caused and issuing an apology to the owner. An internal investigation by Lufthansa into the incident is currently underway.
The collaboration between Talankin and Borenstein on the award-winning documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” culminated in their memorable acceptance speech at the Academy Awards ceremony in March. Talankin, known as the “Mr. Nobody” in the film, was a teacher in Russia who documented his students’ support for Putin’s actions in Ukraine. He partnered with Borenstein, who resides in Denmark, to bring the story to light. Talankin’s impassioned plea on stage for an end to wars resonated with the audience.
Despite the events, the TSA has not yet responded to inquiries regarding the missing Oscar.