Lufthansa says it is searching for an Oscar statuette belonging to Russian filmmaker Pavel Talankin after reports that U.S. airport security prevented him from carrying it onto a flight from New York, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
Talankin, who won an Academy Award for his documentary “Mr Nobody Against Putin”, was stopped at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday, according to film industry news site Deadline.
U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials reportedly told him the statuette could be used as a weapon and required him to place it in checked luggage inside a cardboard box.
However, when he arrived in Germany, the Oscar was missing.
Lufthansa said in a statement: “We deeply regret this situation. Our team is handling this matter with the utmost care and urgency, and we are conducting a comprehensive internal search to ensure that the Oscar is found and returned as quickly as possible.”
Talankin, 35, a videographer from a small-town Russian school, gained international attention after winning the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature alongside U.S. filmmaker David Borenstein in March.
The film “Mr Nobody Against Putin” was created using footage Talankin reportedly smuggled out of Russia and focuses on pro-war patriotic lessons introduced in Russian schools under President Vladimir Putin amid the Ukraine conflict.
Talankin told Deadline he had previously flown more than a dozen times with the statuette without any issues. “It’s completely baffling how they consider an Oscar a weapon,” he said after landing in Frankfurt, adding that in earlier flights he had carried it in the cabin without problems.
According to Deadline, a Lufthansa representative had initially offered to escort Talankin to the gate and keep the statuette safe during the flight, but this arrangement was reportedly rejected by a TSA official.
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