Balomania

Fascinating and exciting portrait of the Brazilian ‘balloon mafia’: secret gangs from the favelas that make and chase gigantic hot air balloons. A real-life action film about unique forms of freedom that will challenge beliefs about favelas, gang life and the power of art. 

In the heart of Brazil’s favelas, filmmaker Sissel Morell Dargis gains unprecedented access to the hidden world of the ‘balloon mafia’. For baloeiros in Rio and Sao Paolo, hot air balloon construction, flying and chasing is a treasured and competitive art form – as well as central to their sense of community and cultural heritage since colonial times. Now, authorities have made their art illegal, ranking them just below drug cartels in the law. It drives the baloeiros underground.  

With police and bounty hunters hot on their heels, Dargis embarks on a wild ride to witness the extreme obsession and sacrifice required to build these spectacular balloons that reach over 70 meters high and that require over 100 people to launch into the sky. As one reviewer put it: ‘The ultimate in high-stakes outsider art.’