Russian Filmmaker Pasha Talankin faces loss of Oscar statuette after baggage mishandling at airports

By  News On Air   May 01, 2026

Russian filmmaker Pasha Talankin, the co-director of Academy Award-winning documentary “Mr. Nobody Against Putin”, has lost his Oscar statuette after security officials at New York airport refused to let him board a flight with it. Talankin was finally asked to check the award in as cargo. However, when the filmmaker landed in Frankfurt, the box was nowhere to be found.

In a statement, Lufthansa Airlines said, they deeply regret this situation and their team is conducting a comprehensive internal search to ensure Oscar is found and returned as quickly as possible. However, living Oscar winners can approach the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to request a replacement statuette in rare instances where an award has been lost or severely damaged.