AceShowbiz - Mr. Nobody Against Putin co-director and star Pavel Talankin has reportedly lost his Oscar statuette following a TSA checkpoint incident at JFK Airport. Talankin, who won the award for Best Documentary Feature in March, was prevented from carrying the Oscar onboard his flight home to Europe.

According to co-director David Borenstein, Talankin was stopped by a TSA agent who claimed the Oscar statuette could be considered a potential weapon. Despite efforts by executive producer Robin to negotiate with TSA, the agent refused to allow Talankin to keep the award as carry-on luggage.

"Yesterday he arrived at JFK ready to fly home to Europe, carrying the Oscar as a carry-on. I snapped the first picture here of him on his way out," Borenstein wrote on Instagram. TSA then required Talankin, who did not check any bags, to place the Oscar inside a cardboard box for it to be loaded onto the plane separately.

Unfortunately, upon arrival in Frankfurt, the box containing the Oscar was missing. Borenstein expressed frustration, noting that he could find no other recorded cases of someone being forced to check an Oscar statuette. He questioned whether Talankin would have been treated differently if he were a well-known actor or a fluent English speaker.

Talankin is a videographer and events coordinator from Karabash, a Russian mining town featured prominently in Mr. Nobody Against Putin. The documentary chronicles Talankin's efforts to expose the Russian government's messaging during the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War, focusing particularly on the information supplied to students regarding the conflict.

Since its Sundance Film Festival premiere in 2025, Mr. Nobody Against Putin gained critical acclaim, culminating in the Oscar win for Best Documentary Feature at the 2026 Academy Awards. The loss of the physical award so soon after the victory has sparked significant attention online.

In his Instagram post, Borenstein appealed directly to Lufthansa for assistance in locating the missing Oscar statuette, asking, "@lufthansa, please help us find it. If you have any information at all, please DM us." He also invited others to share if they had ever experienced having to check an Oscar statuette during travel.

This unusual incident highlights concerns about airport security procedures and their impact on valuable and symbolic items, especially those belonging to lesser-known filmmakers. As of now, the statuette remains missing, and the search continues.