Oscar Goes Missing After Director Forced to Check It on Flight
Pavel Talankin, co-director of the Oscar-winning documentary 'Mr Nobody Against Putin', was forced to check his Academy Award statuette on a transatlantic flight from New York's JFK Airport to Frankfurt, Germany, after a TSA agent deemed it a potential weapon. The Oscar went missing for two days, sparking an international outcry, before Lufthansa located it. Talankin's co-director David Borenstein announced the loss on social media, prompting the airline to track down the prize.
Key facts
- Pavel Talankin won the Oscar for best documentary feature for 'Mr Nobody Against Putin'.
- A TSA agent at JFK Airport said the Oscar could be used as a weapon.
- Talankin was forced to check the statuette without a bag; it was placed in a box and sent to the cargo hold.
- The Oscar did not arrive in Frankfurt, Germany, on Wednesday.
- David Borenstein announced the loss on social media on Thursday night.
- Lufthansa found the missing Oscar on Friday after an international outcry.
- The flight was from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport to Frankfurt.
- The Oscar was missing for two days.
Entities
Artists
- Pavel Talankin
- David Borenstein
- Robin Hessman
Institutions
- Academy Awards
- Transportation Security Administration
- Lufthansa
- Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences
- TSA
- BBC
Locations
- New York
- John F. Kennedy Airport
- Frankfurt
- Germany
- John F. Kennedy International Airport
- Russia
- Europe