Video: The Making of Free Solo with Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

The climbing film Free Solo has been cleaning up during the awards season, most recently winning the Bafta for best documentary. Throughout its media blitz, Alex Honnold –– the climber at the heart of the film –– has gotten a lot of attention, as has director Jimmy Chin. But there is a second director who deserves much of the credit too, although she hasn’t quite gotten as much of the limelight. That director is none other than Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Chin’s wife and partner, without whom this magical film might not have gotten made. In the clip above, she shares her thoughts on what it took to get Free Solo from just another movie about climbing, to a point where it is both a commercial and critical success.

Kraig Becker