Russian filmmaker Pavel Talankin, co-director and star of the Academy Award-winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin, has lost his Oscar statuette after airport security in New York prevented him from carrying it onboard a flight.Talankin was travelling from John F. Kennedy International Airport on Wednesday when officials stopped him at a security checkpoint, claiming the 3.8 kg trophy could pose a security risk. The decision forced him to check in the prestigious award, an outcome that would soon lead to its disappearance.“It’s completely baffling how they consider an Oscar a weapon… (I) flew with it in the cabin, and there never was any kind of problem,” Talankin told PTI from Frankfurt, Germany, where he , where he landed without the statuette.What happened at John F. Kennedy International AirportThe filmmaker noted that he had travelled with the Oscar multiple times since winning it in March, always as carry-on luggage, without any issues. This time, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials at JFK refused to allow it in the cabin.Attempts to resolve the situation failed. A Lufthansa airline agent reportedly offered to escort Talankin and personally hold the statuette during the flight, but the proposal was declined. Even a suggestion to store the award safely in the cockpit was rejected by both airport security and airline supervisors.With no alternatives left, Talankin was asked to check in the Oscar. Since his luggage had already been processed, airline staff provided a cardboard box. The statuette was carefully bubble-wrapped, tagged, and sent off as cargo, a moment the filmmaker documented on his phone.ALSO READ: Ek Din movie review: Just like Junaid Khan and Sai Pallavi, film has no zingStory continues below this adOscar statuette missing on arrivalWhen Talankin arrived in Frankfurt, the box and the Oscar was nowhere to be found.“He calls me this morning from Frankfurt saying Lufthansa doesn’t have it. They lost it,” said executive producer Robin Hessman, who had been assisting Talankin with translation during the airport exchange. Despite having a baggage receipt, the airline was unable to trace the item.Lufthansa later issued a statement expressing regret: “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.”Talankin initially flew back to Europe with the Oscar after the March 15 Academy Awards ceremony, carrying it in the cabin without any issues. Earlier this month, he travelled to the United States again, once more bringing the statuette onboard as hand luggage without facing any problems.Story continues below this adCo-director David Borenstein also reactsCo-director David Borenstein shared images of the makeshift packaging and lost baggage slip online, noting he could not find another instance of an Oscar winner being forced to check in their statuette.He wrote, “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?” View this post on Instagram A post shared by David Borenstein (@davborenstein)About Mr. Nobody Against Putin and Talankin’s exileMr. Nobody Against Putin follows Pavel Talankin, a primary school teacher from a small town in Russia’s Ural region, as he begins documenting how state-backed messaging is introduced to children in classrooms, particularly narratives supporting the war in Ukraine. Working closely with filmmaker David Borenstein, who served as the school’s videographer, footage was quietly recorded and later transmitted through encrypted channels to collaborators in Copenhagen.Facing increasing pressure, Talankin left Russia and relocated to Europe in mid-2024.The documentary has been restricted in Russia. Authorities have blocked it on multiple platforms, claiming it portrays the government and its actions in Ukraine in a negative light.Story continues below this adHis Oscar winning speechHis Oscar win marked a major moment for the documentary, which has been both critically acclaimed and politically contentious. In his acceptance speech, Talankin said, “It’s about how you lose your country…What we saw when working with this footage is that you lose it through countless small little acts of complicity. When we act complicit when a government murders people on the streets of our major cities. When we don’t say anything when oligarchs take over the media and control how we can produce it and consume it.”What happens next?While the statuette remains missing, there may still be a resolution. In rare cases, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences allows Oscar winners to request a replacement if their award is lost or irreparably damaged.