Oscar statuette belonging to Russian documentary filmmaker found at Frankfurt airport, Lufthansa says

An Oscar statuette belonging to Pavel Talankin, one of the creators of the film Mr. Nobody Against Putin, has been found at Frankfurt am Main airport, the German airline Lufthansa’s press service told Deutsche Welle.

The airline apologized to Talankin and said it is prepared to return the statuette to him. Lufthansa staff are working to determine whether Talankin is still in Frankfurt.

The airline has also opened an investigation into how the statuette went missing.

The film’s co-director David Borenstein had earlier reported that Talankin’s Oscar had gone missing on a flight from the United States to Germany. Airport security in New York had refused to let Talankin carry the statuette on board and required him to check it as luggage; when he arrived, the box containing it was gone.

The film Mr. Nobody Against Putin won the Best Documentary Feature award at the 98th Academy Awards. The film examines how propaganda operates in Russian schools and is based on footage Talankin shot in the Chelyabinsk Region. It has been banned from distribution in Russia, and Russian authorities have designated Talankin a “foreign agent.”