The husband-and-wife team on their inspiring rock climbing film
Free solo climber Alex Honnold, the subject of National Geographic’s Free Solo, a front-runner in the 91st Academy Awards’ Best Documentary category, is far more accustomed to eating from a skillet in his van than attending star-studded events like the Oscar nominees luncheon.
Shot over a three-year span, the documentary follows Honnold’s quest to become the first person ever to complete a solo ascent of the 3,000-foot El Capitan summit in Yosemite National Park without ropes or safety equipment. In the film, he calls it “the most impressive wall on earth….the center of the rock-climbing universe.”
Ahead of the Academy Awards on February 24—and following a recent win at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts—Furthermore talked with directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin about what inspired them to tell Honnold’s story, why he risked his life for such a dream, and the logistical challenges of capturing it all on camera.
Photo: National Geographic/Chris Figenshau