In episode 26 of the DocArena Podcast, Ross Whitaker catches up once again with with BAFTA Award-winning director John Dower (Lockerbie, Thriller in Manila, My Scientology Movie) to discuss his latest film, The Balloonists. In cinemas on 22nd May, this gripping documentary follows explorer Bertrand Piccard and British flying instructor Brian Jones as they take on the world’s top aeronauts and billionaires in a high-stakes race to become the first to fly nonstop around the globe in a balloon.
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Welcome to The DocArena Podcast in association with Film Ireland. My name is Ross Whitaker and every fortnight, I want to dig deeply into the motivations of documentary filmmakers – how do they choose their subject material and what approaches and strategies do they employ to fund, craft and distribute their work…
John Dower is a British director who recently won a BAFTA for his series Lockerbie. His feature Thriller in Manila played at Sundance in 2009, went on to be BAFTA and Emmy-nominated, and won a Grierson and a Peabody. His film Bradley Wiggins: A Year In Yellow was BAFTA nominated in the Best Director category. John's other films include the music documentary Live Forever, My Scientology Movie, the Netflix series Sophie – A Murder in West Cork, and The Mystery of DB Cooper, described by The Guardian as, “a real-life Twin Peaks … highly entertaining” and the Times calling it “all but flawless.”
The Balloonists
The Balloonists, a thrilling new documentary opens in the winter of 1999, when Piccard - from a family of record-breaking explorers - and Jones set out to complete the last great aviation challenge of the 20th century: circumnavigating the globe nonstop in a hot-air balloon. With rival teams launching across the world, the race is on to secure a place in the history books.
Working together, they must overcome extreme weather conditions, survive potentially fatal technical failures, and endure mounting mental and physical exhaustion. An exhilarating ride through breathtaking heights and perilous challenges, The Balloonists is a life-affirming story of adventure, obsession and friendship - drawn from a rich archive capturing the highs and lows of their extraordinary journey.
The Balloonists is produced by Rise Films, the Oscar-winning company behind Icarus, All That Breathes, Nuisance Bear, The Invisible War, The Interrupters and George Carlin’s American Dream. The film is produced in association with Anonymous Content and Red Bull Studios.
In Irish cinemas 22 May 2026.
Podcast music composed by michaelflemingmusic.com
Ross Whitaker is a filmmaker and former editor of Film Ireland Magazine and programmer of the IFI Dublin Documentary Film Festival @RossWhitakerTV
Ross is a producer and/or director of the feature documentaries Beat the Lotto (2025), Katie (2018), Between Land and Sea (2016), Unbreakable (2014) and Saviours (2007). His recent work includes the TV documentaries This Is Open Country (2025) for NBC/Sky, Birdsong (2024) for RTÉ (+ BBC, ARTE), Rachael Blackmore: A Grand Year (2021) for ITV/RTÉ, Barney Curley Beat the Bookies (2021) for BBC/RTÉ and The Boys in Green (2020) for RTÉ. His short documentaries include the award-winning Bye Bye Now (2009) and Home Turf (2011), as well as the documentary commercial Sleeping Flags (2019), which won prestigious D&AD and Cannes Lions Awards.
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