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Free Solo

Co-director: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Now in theaters

This Nat Geo blockbuster documentary feature takes the viewer through a chronicle of peril as rock climber Alex Honnold attempts to achieve the impossible, free climbing the world’s most famous rock, the 3,200-foot El Capitan in Yosemite Park. For those of you unfamiliar with climbing terms, free climbing is when you ascend the rock without any equipment or harness, an activity that gives most an anxiety attack and vertigo just thinking about. Now, imagine being Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi directing this film on the ground alongside life partner Jimmy Chin, as each moment of footage could end in disaster with the wrong step or loose hold. Vasarhelyi and Chinn execute this masterfully, weaving in a deeper psychological narrative with Honnold’s personal life and his unwavering itch for greatness, alongside breathtaking shots. Vasarhelyi has made a career in directing adventure-driven documentaries with her work and life partner Chin, though she divulged to the Wonder Woman Panel at SCAD Savannah Film Festival that this was her most challenging professional feat yet. Speaking to the intensity of their production, she noted, “Even if Alex was on the ground, the day wasn’t over until hours later when the crew went home because they were also dangling all over the mountain filming with ropes. Oh and we had my 3-year-old and infant on set!”