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New York: Russian filmmaker Pasha Talankin, co-director and subject of the Academy Award-winning documentary Mr. Nobody Against Putin, lost his Oscar statuette after security at John F. Kennedy International Airport barred him from carrying it into the cabin on Wednesday. Officials cited concerns about the statuette's weight of about 3.8 kg and stopped him at a security checkpoint. Talankin said he had flown with the Oscar more than a dozen times since winning it in March without incident and called the decision baffling. He continued his journey to Frankfurt and arrived on Thursday on a Lufthansa flight without the trophy. Lufthansa staff offered alternatives, including escorting the statuette to the gate and holding it during the flight, but airport security rejected that option. A proposal to store the award in the cockpit was also turned down by both airport security and a Lufthansa supervisor. The film's executive producer, Robin Hessman, assisted Talankin by translating his exchanges with airline and security personnel by phone. With no acceptable alternative, officials asked him to check the statuette as cargo; airline staff provided a cardboard box, wrapped the statuette in bubble wrap and sent it for transport, a process Talankin recorded on his phone.

Prepared by Emily Rhodes and reviewed by editorial team.