An Academy Award-winning director has reported that an Oscar statue belonging to one of his collaborators is missing after being confiscated by Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials. David Borenstein, co-director of the documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, alleged on Instagram that Pavel “Pasha” Talankin, his fellow director and star of the film, did not recover his Oscar statuette after their Lufthansa Airlines flight from New York City to Frankfurt, Germany.
Details of the Incident
On Wednesday, April 29, the Russian-born Talankin arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) ready to fly home to Europe, carrying the Oscar as a carry-on item. Borenstein wrote, “I snapped the first picture here of him on his way out.” According to Borenstein, a TSA agent stated that because the filmmaker's statuette could be used as a weapon, it had to be placed in a box and sent “to the bottom of the plane.” The Oscar then “never arrived in Frankfurt.”
Evidence Provided
Borenstein provided photos of Talankin carrying his trophy in a satchel as a carry-on, as well as the box in which the TSA placed it and the subsequent lost luggage slip. Tagging the TSA in his post, Borenstein added, “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?”
Background on the Documentary
The controversial documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature this year. The film features Talankin, an events coordinator at a primary school, as he documents Russia's requirements regarding patriotic depictions of the country's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Borenstein and Talankin accepted the award onstage at the March 15 ceremony.
