Oscar-winning director Pavel Talankin has revealed that his Academy Award went missing after he was forced to check it in for a flight. Talankin, a Russian teacher and documentary-maker, won the statuette for his film Mr Nobody Against Putin, which took home the Best Feature Documentary accolade at this year's ceremony. However, the award disappeared after he was compelled to place it in the hold compartment on a Lufthansa flight.
Thankfully, the airline has since confirmed that the Oscar has been found, stating that they are arranging for its return "as quickly as possible." Talankin told Deadline that upon arriving for a flight from New York's John F. Kennedy airport with his Oscar in hand on Wednesday, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials informed him that he could not take the prize onboard as it could potentially be used as a weapon. The director, who mentioned that he had flown with the Oscar in his cabin luggage more than a dozen times since his win in March, was instructed to check it under the plane. Since he did not have his own packaging, the Oscar was placed into a cardboard box provided by Lufthansa. However, when the flight landed in Frankfurt, Germany, the statuette was nowhere to be seen.
Producer's Reaction
Robin Hessman, the executive producer of Talankin's Oscar-winning documentary, told the BBC that she tried to assist Talankin via a speakerphone call when the situation at JFK airport unfolded, as he does not speak fluent English. "This wouldn't have happened to Leonardo DiCaprio," she said. Talankin travels with the award to showcase it at events and screenings. During his visit to New York, he reportedly handed it around to an audience of university students at a Q&A session.
Lufthansa's Response
Lufthansa issued a statement saying: "We deeply regret this situation. Our team is treating this matter with the utmost care and urgency, and we are conducting a comprehensive internal search to ensure the Oscar is found and returned as quickly as possible." In a later update, the airline added: "The Oscar statue has now been located and is safely in our care in Frankfurt. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and have apologised to the owner. The careful and secure handling of our guests' belongings is of the utmost importance to us. An internal review of the circumstances is ongoing."
Social Media Appeal
Talankin's co-director David Borenstein had appealed for help on social media, writing in an Instagram post: "I've looked and I can't find a single other case of someone being forced to check an Oscar. Would Pavel have been treated the same way if he were a famous actor? Or a fluent English speaker?" While this appears to be the first recorded instance of an Oscar going missing on a flight, numerous Academy Awards have been lost over the years. Matt Damon revealed in 2007 that the Oscar he won for writing Good Will Hunting with Ben Affleck over a decade earlier disappeared from his New York apartment after a flood. "One of the sprinklers went off when my wife and I were out of town," he said. "That was the last I saw of it." The actor admitted that the Oscar may have been placed in storage by someone who helped clean up, but it also could have been taken.
Frances McDormand faced a similar situation when she was separated from her Oscar within hours of winning Best Actress for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. McDormand's statuette went missing during the Governors Ball after party in 2018, but it was reportedly recovered after a photographer spotted it being taken. Criminal charges were brought against a self-described "producer, A-list host, entertainment journalist, actor, DJ and superstar" named Terry Bryant, who posted a video on Facebook of himself holding the statuette yet always maintained his innocence. The charges were later dismissed by a Los Angeles court.
