Movies Similar to The Balloonist

The Cowboy Capital(2024)

Bandera, Texas (THE COWBOY CAPITAL OF THE WORLD) is a captivating documentary that explores the vibrant history, unique culture, and enduring values of the small town of Bandera, Texas.

The Forgiveness(2009)

Andrés Rabadán was headline news after killing his father with a crossbow. But beyond the chatter of the media, what is the true story of the young man who became known as the “maniac with the crossbow”?

Only the Young(2012)

Kevin and Garrison are boyhood friends in a sleepy California suburb. They share a love of skateboarding, an evangelical Christian faith and a sense of confusion about romantic relationships.

Deaners(2016)

A documentary pilgrimage to the annual James Dean Festival in Fairmount, IN as seen through the eyes of the cultural icon's die-hard fans, affectionately known as 'Deaners'.

Cinéma Laika(2023)

In the heart of the Finnish forest, the long-closed foundry of the little town of Karkkila has come back to life thanks to director Aki Kaurismäki and his creation of the town's first cinema. The peace and calm of the little town of Karkkila, nestled deep in the Finnish forest, is interrupted by unexpected sounds. In the abandoned foundry, noisy building work is taking place. Inside the building, Aki Kaurismäki is both builder and site manager of what is soon to become the Kino Laika cinema. The creation of the cinema is the talk of the town. In the factory still in activity, in a 1960s Cadillac, in a bikers' club, in the local pub, in the woods or in Aki Kaurismäki's former editing room, people start talking about cinema again.

A ház(1975)

Nazca Desert Mystery(2022)

One of the world’s greatest ancient enigmas, the Nazca lines are a dense network of criss-crossing lines, geometric shapes, and animal figures etched across 200 square miles of Peruvian desert. Who created them and why? Ever since they were discovered in the 1920s, scholars and enthusiasts have raised countless theories about their purpose. Now, archaeologists have discovered hundreds of long-hidden lines and figures as well as evidence of ancient rituals, offering new clues to the origins and motivations behind the giant desert symbols.

The KFC(2020)

Five Kiwis take on a paragliding adventure in Tanzania, with the ultimate aim to fly from the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.

Werner We Love You(2017)

When Werner Herzog was still a child, his father was beaten to death before his eyes. His mother was overwhelmed with his upbringing and thereupon shipped him off to one of the toughest youth welfare institutions in Freistatt. This was followed by a career as a bouncer in the city's most notorious music club and an attempt to start a family. Today, the 77-year-old from Bielefeld lives with his dog Lucky in a lonely house in the country. Despite adverse living conditions, he has survived in his own unique and inimitable way.

La Pride des champs(2024)

Chenevelles, population just over 400. A grocery store-bar-service station. Its church and château. A village lost in New Aquitaine. Nothing to distinguish it from neighboring towns. Until the day when a few posters, community social networks and local newspapers invited the surrounding area to participate in the first rural Pride - on July 22, 2022! The region's LGBTQIA+ community, along with Cyril, the mayor, and his constituents, got together to ensure that this celebration resonated throughout the country. The grocer, Léo, a young man in transition, and the Poitiers-based Coloc Drag collective all had the same goal: to surpass 1,000 participants to spread the word that the countryside has broken free from prejudice and celebrate tolerance. 

Mudflat(1980)

Years ago, artists would walk around the muck at the edge of the San Francisco Bay in Emeryville, and build loads of sculptures out there on the flats, created from driftwood and found objects that drivers would enjoy as they motored south on the old Highway 17 (known in numerous radio ads as 'Highway 17, The Nimitz'). Grabbing material off someone else’s work was considered fair game and part of the fun, and contributed a kinetic dynamic to the ongoing display. Now the place is a park, and the sculptures are gone, but you can see what it used to be like in this neat and funny documentary by Ric Reynolds, augmented by Erich Seibert’s wonderful musique-concrète/time-lapse sequences. The flashback circus sequence includes Scott Beach and Bill Irwin. Sculptors interviewed include Walt Zucker, Tony Puccio, Robert Sommer, Ron & Mary Bradden, and Bob Kaminsky.

Finding Vivian Maier(2014)

Vivian Maier's photos were seemingly destined for obscurity, lost among the clutter of the countless objects she'd collected throughout her life. Instead these images have shaken the world of street photography and irrevocably changed the life of the man who brought them to the public eye. This film brings to life the interesting turns and travails of the improbable saga of John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier, unravelling this mysterious tale through her documentary films, photographs, odd collections and personal accounts from the people that knew her. What started as a blog to show her work quickly became a viral sensation in the photography world. Photos destined for the trash heap now line gallery exhibitions, a forthcoming book and this documentary film.

Reconnaissance Pilot(1943)

Documentary/training film depicting the duties of a pilot in the Pacific Theatre of the Second World War as he flies reconnaissance missions over enemy-held islands.

Eyes of the Navy(1940)

Produced by MGM in cooperation with the U.S. Navy, this short film follows U.S. naval aviators through their basic training in Florida and advanced training in California.

The Long Shift(2014)

A small town ice hockey team fights through their first season in an upper division. The players' dreams might have changed from childhood but their love for the sport does not fade.

The State of Marriage(2015)

The untold story of how legal pioneer Mary Bonauto partnered with small town Vermont lawyers Beth Robinson and Susan Murray in a 2-decade long struggle that built the foundation for the entire marriage equality movement. Despite fierce opposition, Vermont became the first state to grant same sex couples legal recognition through a groundbreaking 1999 State Supreme Court decision, and the first to legalize marriage equality by legislative vote in 2009. HRC's Marty Rouse said, "They really changed the course of American history." Featuring Freedom to Marry founder Evan Wolfson, civil rights legend Rep. John Lewis, and Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally.

A Scenic Harvest from the Kingdom of Pain(1984)

Documentation of three Survival Research Laboratories events, 1983-1984. Meet Stu, the SRL guinea pig, and see him training to operate the 4-legged Walking Machine, see 10-barrel shotguns, hear the "Stairway to Hell".

The Conquest of the Air(1931)

This early docudrama uses dramatic reenactment, working models of early flying machines, and archival footage to trace man's attempts to fly from ancient times through the 1930s.

Undaunted: The Forgotten Giants of the Allegheny Observatory(2012)

This film tells the surprising story of how the Allegheny Observatory has been a world leader in the study of the stars since the 1860s. Self-educated, and often facing unrelenting hardships, the people associated with the Allegheny Observatory defied the odds to make enormous contributions to the founding of astrophysics and early aviation.

Tenerife(2005)

March 27, 1977. At 2:00 in the afternoon, a thick fog rolled into the usually quiet Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. On the runway sat two fully loaded jumbo airliners. An explosion at a nearby airport had redirected air traffic to the undermanned airfield at Tenerife. Within three hours 583 people would be dead. This film reconstructs the moments leading up to the tragedy.