The weight of victory

I had been nominated for my first-ever British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for my score of “The Motorcycle Diaries.” The awards, which are known by their acronym, the Baftas, are the United Kingdom’s equivalent of the Oscars.

I was sure I had no chance of winning it, so I had no intention of flying all the way to London for the ceremony. But my wife, Alejandra, encouraged me to go and eventually I relented.

It was a last-minute decision, and we arrived just in time for the show. Exhausted from the 11-hour flight, we entered the theater and were delighted to hear my score being played. To my surprise, I won the award.

I was thrilled, but also surprised to find out how incredibly heavy the trophy was. Actually, it wasn’t as much a trophy as it was a bronze mask with a thick marble base.

It was so weighty that I couldn’t even stand to carry it with me throughout the night while we attended all of the parties.

The sheer mass of the award proved to be a problem later on. As we were making our way through the airport on our way home the next day, I had to lug the heavy mask around with me.

As proud as I was of the great honor that the award represented, I certainly couldn’t check it with the rest of the luggage and had no other way of getting it home.

When I walked through the first metal detector, I set the mask aside for a hand inspection. It looked like everything was going fine until the security screener picked it up.

The weight of the mask caught him off guard. He looked at me suspiciously. Suddenly I found myself encircled by a group of security officers, none of whom evidently knew what a Bafta award was.

“Why is it so heavy?” one asked.

“What do you have inside?” another asked, convinced that the mask was hiding something.

My hands were getting clammy. I felt as though I was ready to drop the mask on my foot.

Just when I thought I would have to leave my trophy in England, a manager came over to set the group of suspicious security guards straight. “That,” he explained, pointing at my award, “is a Bafta award.”

The group dispersed. And the manager turned to us with a sheepish grin and said, “Congratulations.”

Then he waved us through.

Gustavo Santaolalla is a composer based in Los Angeles.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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