From the flight deck to the film set, Tristan Loraine has never backed away from turbulence—especially when it matters most. As a former airline captain turned documentary filmmaker, Loraine now shines a spotlight on urgent public issues through the power of art storytelling. His two latest works, This Is Your Captain Speaking and Our Journey with Lobular Breast Cancer, are premiering at the 2025 Raindance Film Festival, tackling air safety and medical advocacy with searing clarity. We caught up with Tristan Loraine to talk about purpose-driven filmmaking, personal stakes, and why these stories couldn’t wait.
You are a former airline pilot turned documentary filmmaker. What inspired this move into the movie industry?
I was aware of a design flaw affecting all passenger jet aircraft and felt it was important to share what I knew. Making a documentary was a logical choice. My first on the issue released in 2007 triggered two calls for a Public Enquiry but here we are in 2025 with the issue still unresolved.
Congratulations on having two documentaries premiering at the 2025 Raindance Film Festival. Can you give us a brief summary of both films?
Our Journey with Lobular Breast Cancer” tells the story of the amazing ladies seeking to get funding for research into their type of breast cancer: lobular breast cancer. The second most common type of breast cancer that rarely shows on a mammogram or on ultra sound. A cancer which 1,000 people a day are diagnosed with globally and which has no specific treatment based on the unique biology of the disease. Their campaign, known as the ‘Lobular Moon Shot Project’ is the most bi-partisan supported campaign in the nation with over 50% of MPs calling on the Government to fund the research but this has yet to happen.
This is your Captain speaking” explores the quality of the air you breathe on passenger jet aircraft, what the industry knows but has not shared with the travelling public, the health and flight safety implications of the air you breathe being contaminated with engine oil decomposition products, the money paid for silence, the quest to develop a blood test to prove exposure and how long the industry has known about a design flaw that fails dangerous.
Both projects are deeply personal. “This is Your Captain Speaking” uncovers the controversial issue around contaminated air on aircrafts. A topic you know very well as a former pilot. At what point did you decide to investigate this subject in a documentary film?
People may say its controversial but the products people are being exposed to comes with clear warnings such as ‘Do not breathe mist or vapour from heated product’ or ’suspected of causing cancer’ – for me that’s something people should be told about and that’s why we made the film, so people can fly informed and know the facts, something aircraft manufacturers don’t share with the travelling public.
Why do you think the aviation industry is so slow to react to concerns about cabin air quality?
Because millions of people who fly everyday are not aware of the issue, if they notice some odd smells they assume its safe and part of flying. They don’t ask what products they are being exposed to and if they develop any health issues later, they rarely make the link to the aircraft. Air travel statistically is the safest form of travel but you should not be exposed to chemicals which are suspected carcinogens etc… and not be told. The air quality should be permanently monitored and it’s not. Why not?
“Our Journey with Lobular Breast Cancer” follows your wife Dr. Susan Michaelis and other women with invasive lobular breast cancer. Can you tell us a little more about the Lobular Moon Shot Project and your wife’s involvement with the initiative?
We started the project in 2023 to raise £20 million to undertake a 5 year research project to fully understand the biology of lobular breast cancer. A cancer which remains an unmet clinical need and has no specific treatment for the unique type of breast cancer it is. A cancer that rarely shows on a mammogram or ultra sound. The Lobular Moon Shot Project will help change that and over 50% of MPs support the project – that’s a majority, but the Government is yet to act. The Lobular Moon Shot Project would save lives and save the NHS millions in the long term. The £20 needed equates to under £240 per person for those who will be diagnosed with lobular in the next 10 years alone in the UK.
Did your personal relationship with the subject influence how you approached the storytelling?
No, it was a story that had to be told. My wife and the other amazing ladies who shared their stories shaped the story as it progressed.
How does it feel to have your films premiere at Raindance?
Awesome. Ask a film maker who was an airline captain and who was trained by NFTS and Raindance, to have one film screen at Raindance is amazing, to have 2 films on such important public interest issues is awesome. It’s also a tribute to Raindance that they were willing to screen films highlighting such important topics. Topics that touch everyone who attends the festival: either they will fly or they will know someone diagnosed with breast cancer. Screening at Raindance could help change the future for millions.
What do you hope to achieve with these films?
For “Our Journey with Lobular Breast Cancer” to get the Government to fund the Lobular Moon Shot Project and help the millions of ladies in the future who will be diagnosed with lobular breast cancer.
For “This is Your Captain Speaking” to get the the aerospace industry to resolve a health and flight safety issue it has known about for decades. An issue that ended my career, an issue most passengers know nothing about but should know.