Oscar statuette goes missing after TSA requires it to be checked at airport

An Oscar statuette has gone missing after airport security required it to be checked as luggage, according to one of this year’s Academy Award winners.

David Borenstein, co-director of the documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, said his colleague Pavel “Pasha” Talankin lost his Oscar while traveling from New York to Frankfurt. In an Instagram post, Borenstein explained that Talankin was carrying the trophy in his bag at JFK Airport on April 29 when Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents stopped him.

According to Borenstein, a TSA agent said the Oscar could be used as a weapon and could not be taken on board as a carry-on item. The statuette was placed in a box and sent with checked luggage instead. However, when Talankin arrived in Frankfurt, the item was missing.

Borenstein shared photos of Talankin holding the Oscar at the airport, as well as images of the box used by TSA and a lost luggage report. He also questioned whether Talankin was treated differently because he is not a native English speaker or a well-known actor.

“I’ve looked and can’t find a single other case of someone being forced to check an Oscar,” Borenstein wrote, tagging the TSA.

Mr Nobody Against Putin won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature earlier this year. The film follows Talankin, a former school events coordinator in Russia, as he documents state-mandated messaging about the war in Ukraine.

Talankin left Russia in 2024 after concerns about surveillance and later received help from filmmakers to seek asylum in Europe. He appeared on stage at the Oscars ceremony in March, where he called for an end to war during his acceptance speech.

It is currently unclear where the missing Oscar statuette is or whether it will be recovered.