Episode
DocArena: BAFTA-Winning Director John Dower (The Balloonists, Thriller in Manila, My Scientology Movie)
- Podcast
- Film Ireland Podcast
- Published
- May 26, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2092
- Processing state
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- https://www.filmireland.netd/docarena-podcast-bafta-winning-director-john-dower-the-balloonists-thriller-in-manila-my-scientology-movie
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Summary
In episode 26 of the DocArena Podcast , Ross Whitaker catches up once again 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. This podcast has been made possible with the support of the Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland Stakeholders Fund. Listen now on SoundCloud, Apple, Spotify, Acast and Amazon, or subscribe to Film Ireland wherever you get your podcasts . 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 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 Pic…