The Balloonists
John Dower United States, United Kingdom, Austria 2025 86 min.
Flying around the world in a single journey by hot air balloon. In 1999, Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard and the British flight instructor Brian Jones, set out in their Breitling Orbiter to realise the last great aviation challenge of the 20th century. A heartwarming buddy comedy and perhaps the ultimate adventure documentary, made up of breathtaking archival footage and a unique peek behind-the-scenes.
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Director John Dower previously screened films at DOCVILLE with The Mystery of D.B. Cooper and My Scientology Movie, the latter made with Louis Theroux and opening the festival in 2016. In The Balloonists, he takes us on the extraordinary adventure that Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones began in 1999: a journey that may well be considered the very last of the great voyages of discovery. But they were not alone: rival teams around the globe took flight in a race to be the first to make history. Together, Piccard and Jones must confront extreme weather conditions, survive potentially fatal technical failures, and endure mounting mental and physical exhaustion.
Keywords
Weermannen: de echte helden van de ballonvaart
As the documentary channel par excellence, VRT CANVAS sends an expert on the subject to a selection of films. Under the heading VRT CANVAS Talks, he delves deeper into a series of pressing themes. Meteorologist and weatherman Bram Verbruggen provides commentary and explanation for the incredible story of Piccard and Jones. How impossible is it to travel around the world completely at the mercy of the whims of the wind?
This Canvas Talks follows after the screening of ma 23/03 in Cinema ZED Vesalius, you don't need an extra ticket.
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Credits
Director
John Dower
Producer
Guy Horlock, Teddy Leifer
Cinematography
Will Pugh
Sales
Guy Horlock
Executive producer
Georg Aschauer, Nick Shumaker, Charlotte Cheung, Jessica Grimshaw, David Levine, Philipp Manderla
Assistant Producer
Sofia Bennett
Line Producer
Kate Bullions
Associate Producer
Florrie Priest, Sam Stanley
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Dialogues
English
Subtitling
English