Pavel Talankin won an Oscar for his documentary “Mr Nobody Against Putin”.Image: keystone
The winner of the documentary Oscar had his award banned from his hand luggage at New York airport – and then ended up missing in Germany. Now the statuette has resurfaced.
May 1, 2026, 3:25 p.mMay 1, 2026, 3:25 p.m
Pavel Talankin, co-director and protagonist of the Oscar-winning documentary “Mr Nobody Against Putin,” wanted to take his Academy Award with him as hand luggage on a flight from New York to Germany. The TSA security service stopped him at John F. Kennedy International Airport: The statuette could be used as a weapon, they said. Talankin had to give up the Oscar.
When he arrived in Germany, the statuette was missing.
Lufthansa finds the Oscar in Frankfurt
The airline then reported to the BBC: “The Oscar statuette has been found and is safely in our care in Frankfurt.” Lufthansa is in direct contact with the guest to organize the return as quickly as possible. The airline apologized and announced an internal review of the circumstances.
Robin Hessman, executive producer of the BBC documentary, was on the phone at the airport during the incident because Talankin does not speak fluent English. She said Talankin had traveled around the US and on international flights with his Oscar and Bafta awards several times without ever having any problems. “That wouldn’t have happened to Leonardo DiCaprio,” said Hessman.
Documentary about war propaganda in Russia
Talankin regularly travels with the award to present the film at screenings. Most recently, he showed the statuette to students at a New York university during a demonstration followed by an audience discussion.
An Academy Award is 34 centimeters high, weighs just under four kilograms and costs between 400 and 1000 US dollars to produce. “Mr Nobody Against Putin” documents the increasing war propaganda at a Russian school where Talankin worked after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Talankin now lives in exile in Europe. Russia has blocked the film on three streaming platforms, saying it promotes extremism and terrorism. (mke)