Pavel Talankin's Oscar goes missing after forced baggage check at JFK
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Apr 30
Pavel Talankin's Oscar goes missing after forced baggage check at JFK
8 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Apr 30
The 8.5lb statuette disappeared on a Lufthansa flight from New York to Frankfurt after TSA agents at Terminal 1 said it could be used as a weapon.
Talankin said he had previously carried the award onboard without issue, while Lufthansa staff allegedly offered to escort it to the gate before security refused any compromise.
The loss hit the co-director of Oscar-winning documentary Mr Nobody Against Putin, a Russian exile whose film has been banned on some platforms in Russia.
Was the Oscar for an anti-Putin film simply lost, or was it targeted after the TSA forced it to be checked?
How does a videotaped and tagged Oscar vanish between New York's check-in and Frankfurt's baggage claim?