Pavel Talankin, co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin, had his Academy Award statuette temporarily lost after TSA agents at New York’s John F Kennedy Airport refused to let him bring it on board a Lufthansa flight to Germany, according to reports from multiple sources.
Key Takeaways
An Oscar statuette belonging to Pavel Talankin, co-director of the documentary 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin,' went missing after TSA agents refused to let him carry it on board his flight from New York's JFK Airport. The statuette has been found and is safely in Lufthansa's care.
The statuette was reported missing by Talankin's co-director Dave Borenstein on social media. According to Borenstein and executive producer Robin Hessman, TSA agents claimed the Oscar could be used as a weapon and forced Talankin to check it in a cardboard box provided by Lufthansa.
Lufthansa confirmed that the statuette has been located and is safely in their care in Frankfurt. The airline expressed regret for the inconvenience caused and assured they are arranging its return to Talankin as quickly as possible. An internal review of the circumstances is ongoing, per a statement shared with BBC.
Talankin had previously flown with his Oscar without incident on multiple flights across different airlines. He often travels with the award to showcase it at events and screenings. The documentary 'Mr. Nobody Against Putin' focuses on Russian propaganda efforts in schools following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
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