An Academy Award winner, Pavel Talankin, encountered an issue at a New York airport when attempting to bring his Oscar, earned for the documentary ‘Mr Nobody Against Putin,’ on a flight to Germany. Despite having traveled with his Oscar and Bafta multiple times before without any problems, airport security prevented Talankin from carrying the award on board, citing concerns that it could be used as a weapon. Consequently, the Oscar was placed in the cargo hold in a cardboard box, but upon arrival in Germany, it was missing.
His colleague, Robin Hessman, explained that language barriers necessitated her assistance in communicating with TSA officials. Talankin’s co-director, David Borenstein, expressed frustration on Instagram over the incident, questioning whether a famous actor or fluent English speaker would have faced the same treatment.
Lufthansa airlines, who assisted in packaging the award for the flight, assured that they are actively searching for the missing Oscar with utmost care and urgency. The 13.5-inch, 8.5-pound statuette costs approximately £740 to manufacture. ‘Mr Nobody Against Putin’ delves into Talankin’s documentation of war propaganda in Russian schools following the Ukraine invasion, leading to his exile and the banning of his documentary in Russia. Despite challenges, Talankin remains committed to his filmmaking, emphasizing the importance of his work reaching audiences.
