ArunDoc : CineVic presents The Balloonists

UK/US/Austria 2025 John Dower - Certificate PG - 1 hr 26m

In 1999, the unlikely duo of Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard and British flying instructor Brian Jones take on the world's leading aeronauts and billionaires in a race to become the first people to fly nonstop around the world in a balloon.

In the UK we were captivated by Sir Richard Branson’s attempt to seize this prize … but there was another story. In the winter of 1999, Piccard and Jones took off from Switzerland on their shot at the last great aviation challenge of the 20th century. As rival teams lifted off across the world they left their families behind and soared towards Taiwan. Then things got a little more threatening. This exhilarating documentary looks at what it takes to write yourself into the history books; the courage, the cost, the impact on those in the air and those left on the ground. Two men, suspended in a pressurised capsule below a very large balloon, committing their lives to the vagaries of the world’s winds and weather at 30,000 feet. Strap yourself in.