TRAILERS

'Balloon Man' Doc Trailer on African-American Balloon Master Pilot

by Alex Billington
December 21, 2020
Source: YouTube

"He was an excellent pilot." Gravitas is releasing this documentary film in February and we haven't featured the trailer for it yet. Balloon Man is a documentary Bill Costen, a former football player for the Buffalo Bills. Saying goodbye to a career on the turf, Bill takes to the air, becoming the first African American Hot-Air Balloon Master Pilot in the world (in 2016!). The film is made by his own daughter, filmmaker Chantal Potter, and played at a few festivals this year. "From the year I was born, I was flying with my father and I am honored to be able to tell his incredible story," Potter says. "When I began the journey of producing this film, I not only wanted to open a gateway into the experience of the art, skill, and business of ballooning but also the endeavors of a man who gave the word flight an entirely new meaning. I hope that by sharing my father's story, a generation will be inspired to live authentically and reach their full potential." As a big time fan of hot air balloons, this looks like a unique and inspiring story about following your dreams. Fly on, Bill.

Here's the two official trailers (+ poster) for Chantal Potter's doc Balloon Man, direct from YouTube:

The rubber met the road in the early 1970s for Bill Costen. After being drafted by the Buffalo Bills, tragedy forces him out of his dream. Saying goodbye to a career on the turf, Bill takes to the air, becoming the first African American Hot-Air Balloon Master Pilot in the world. Balloon Man is an intimate portrait of a former NFL athlete who learned how to navigate through the clouds, told through the lens of his daughter, award-winning filmmaker, Chantal Potter. Bill found freedom in flying, proving that with a bit of faith, the sky's the limit. Balloon Man is directed by American filmmaker Chantal Potter, making her feature directorial debut with this film following work as a development exec at Made For T.V. Productions. This premiered at a few small regional film festivals throughout the year. Gravitas Ventures will release Potter's Balloon Man direct-to-VOD starting on February 2nd, 2021 this winter. Interested in learning his story?

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