“Mr. Nobody Against Putin” filmmaker Pavel “Pasha” Talankin will soon be reunited with his Oscar statuette after it went missing amid his recent travels.
A spokesperson for European airline Lufthansa confirmed Friday in a statement shared with outlets that the coveted golden statuette has been located and is “safely in our care.” Lufthansa spoke on the missing Oscar after Talankin’s co-director Dave Borenstein raised the flag Thursday on social media. “Mr. Nobody Against Putin” won the documentary feature film category at the 98th Academy Awards in March.
According to Borenstein, Talankin arrived at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York “to fly home to Europe” and had the Oscar in tow as a carry-on. Airport security allegedly stopped Talankin from bringing the Oscar on board, citing concerns it could be used as a weapon. Borenstein said the film’s executive producer tried to smooth things but ultimately, “TSA put the Oscar in a box and sent it to the bottom of the plane” because Pavel did not have a check-in bag to place it in. He shared a photo of the cardboard box and Deadline published video of airport workers wrapping the statuette in bubble wrap and yellow tape.
Borenstein concluded his post noting the Oscar “never arrived” in Frankfurt, Germany, and speculated whether his co-director was on the receiving end of unfair treatment. “Would Pavel have been treated the same way if he were a famous actor? Or a fluent English speaker?” he wrote, tagging the Instagram account for the Transportation Security Administration. He also tagged Lufthansa and urged them to assist.
In response, Lufthansa commented on Borenstein’s post that it was on the missing Oscar case, and they are taking it “super serious.” Less than a day after their comment, the airline’s spokesperson said in their statement that it is “in direct contact with the guest to arrange its personal return as quickly as possible.”
“We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and have apologized to the owner,” the spokesperson added.
Borenstein celebrated the development on Instagram, posting a clip of his interview with the BBC about the update and thanking a Lufthansa rep for their help and followers for spreading the word.
“Mr. Nobody Against Putin” features Talankin, a schoolteacher near the Ural Mountains, as he documents Russian propaganda efforts — from chants and songs — to energize young students around the war in Ukraine. During the Oscars in March, Talankin delivered a poignant message in Russian.
“In the name of our future, in the name of all of our children, stop all of these wars now,” he said through a translator.
