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31-609: The film premiered at the 45th Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2018, and also screened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival , where it won the People's Choice Award in the Documentaries category . It was released in the United States on September 28, 2018, and grossed over $ 28 million at the worldwide box office. Free Solo received acclaim from critics and numerous accolades, including winning Best Documentary Feature at

62-645: A New York Times Op Doc, an episode for Netflix's non-fiction design series ABSTRACT, and two episodes for ESPN 's non-fiction series Future of Sports . Free Solo won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . Vasarhelyi has received grants from the Sundance Institute , the Ford Foundation , the Rockefeller Brothers Fund , Bertha Britdoc, the William and Mary Greve Foundation and

93-619: A grigri on his descent, she makes a mistake, and he falls. He visits a physician and discovers he has some vertebral compression fractures. Alex admits to wanting to break up with Sanni over this incident, but decides against it after talking with her and learning the fractures are not very serious. In the summer of 2016, Alex and Tommy Caldwell go climbing in Morocco to prepare for his El Capitan free solo. The film crew also prepares, discussing where to place cameras to best capture Alex’s climb while minimizing distractions and interference, and also

124-662: A nomination for the Pare Lorentz Award at the 2009 International Documentary Association Awards . In 2013, Vasarhelyi completed Touba , a documentary on the annual Mouride pilgrimage, the Grand Magaal in Touba, Senegal . It premiered at SXSW 2013, where it won the Special Jury Prize for Best Cinematography. She returned to Senegal to document the presidential elections of 2012. Incorruptible (formerly An African Spring ),

155-414: A perfect match between passion and personality." Vasarhelyi and Chin discuss filming the climb in their New York Times opinion piece, saying, "Throughout history, documentarians have had to struggle with the blurred lines of their responsibility to their subjects. We were haunted by the possibility that our presence might put him at more risk every time we turned on the cameras." Vasarhelyi has directed

186-408: A way, for that." Michael Hale of Sight and Sound praised the filming techniques and resulting effect, saying that an image reminiscent of Greek mythology is evoked as Honnold is captured scaling the immense wall of El Capitan. John Doyle of The Globe and Mail commended the "texture" of film, specifically the tension and intensity as Honnold repeatedly risks death, as well as the relatability of

217-414: Is graded at 5.13a  (7c+) in difficulty, and no climber has ever completed a big-wall free solo at such a grade of difficulty in rock climbing history . Alex is a shy loner who has lived and traveled alone in his van for several years, but recently he is sometimes joined by his new girlfriend Sanni McCandless (whom he later married). On one climb with Sanni, while she is feeding Alex's rope through

248-570: Is an American documentary filmmaker. She was the director, along with her husband, Jimmy Chin , for the film Free Solo , which won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . The film profiled Alex Honnold and his free solo climb of El Capitan in June 2017. Their first scripted film venture was Nyad , a biopic chronicling Diana Nyad 's quest to be the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida. Vasarhelyi grew up in New York City , and

279-411: Is one of the best sports documentaries of its type in recent years." Vasarhelyi and Chin's 2018 film Free Solo won the People's Choice Award: Documentaries at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival . The film has received critical acclaim as a riveting documentary and a profound story of human endeavor. Jeannette Catsoulis from The New York Times called Free Solo, "an engaging study of

310-575: Is the daughter of Marina Vasarhelyi, a college administrator, and Miklós Vásárhelyi, a college professor. Her father is a Hungarian-born Brazilian and her mother is from Hong Kong . Vasarhelyi is a graduate of The Brearley School . She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University . Vasarhelyi worked in 2004 as an assistant to director Mike Nichols on the film Closer and has worked extensively with Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Scott Duncan documenting events such as

341-483: The 91st Academy Awards . Climber Alex Honnold has been dreaming of free-soloing the 3,000 feet (900 m) rock wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park , a feat no one has performed. His choice of big wall climbing route on El Capitan is called Freerider , a route that was created by Alexander Huber in 1998, and which Honnold has completed several times with protection equipment . Freerider

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372-671: The Dakar Rally . Her first film, A Normal Life , won Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2003. Her second film, Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love , was released in theaters in the United States and internationally. The film premiered at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals and won numerous awards including the Special Jury Prize at the Middle East International Film Festival in 2008 and

403-546: The National Endowment of the Arts . She was selected as a 2013 Sundance Documentary Film Fellow, named one of Filmmaker magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2005 and received an Achievement Award from Creative Visions foundation in 2008. Vasarhelyi married Jimmy Chin , a photographer for National Geographic and a professional skier and climber, on May 26, 2013. They have two children. Vasarhelyi met Chin at

434-501: The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 98% of 160 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: " Free Solo depicts athletic feats that many viewers will find beyond reason – and grounds the attempts in passions that are all but universal." On Metacritic , the film has a weighted average score of 83 out of 100 based on reviews from 25 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Peter Debruge of Variety praised

465-473: The cameras, so the filmmakers created a special recording device and had Honnold carry it inside his chalk bag . The film was made by National Geographic Partners , which at the time of the film's release was majority-owned by 21st Century Fox , with the remainder owned by the National Geographic Society . Free Solo premiered on August 31, 2018, at the 45th Telluride Film Festival , and it

496-474: The death-defying climb with vertigo-inducing camerawork. We see Honnold getting ready for the climb… At the same time, the armour of invincibility he's built up over the years fractures when he begins to fall in love with Sanni.” 45th Telluride Film Festival The 45th Telluride Film Festival took place from August 31 to September 3, 2018 in Telluride, Colorado , United States. Novelist Jonathan Lethem

527-432: The ethical dilemma of documenting this climb, knowing Alex may die on camera. At some point, Alex accepts an offer to receive an MRI in order to understand his brain's response to fear, and the results show that there is little or no activity in his amygdala in response to average stimuli. In the fall of 2016, Alex sprains his ankle on El Capitan while traditional climbing (i.e., using ropes and protection equipment) on

558-460: The ethical ramifications and decisions behind creating Free Solo, knowing Honnold could die on camera. Ultimately, they decided to go through with the film and devoted some time to documenting its own production process, with Chin and his camera crew discussing the challenge of not endangering climber Alex Honnold by distracting him or putting any pressure at all on him to attempt the climb. According to Vasarhelyi, filming without endangering Honnold

589-425: The first section of Freerider , the giant multi-pitch slab known as Freeblast and graded at 5.11b  (6c). Not wanting to miss the chance to do the free climb that year, he only takes a brief break from climbing and resumes his preparations while his foot is still swollen. Around Halloween, Alex and Sanni carve pumpkins with Tommy and his wife and children. In an interview, Alex says his family did not hug and

620-468: The highest per-venue average of 2018, and An Inconvenient Sequel (2017) for the highest-ever per-venue average for a documentary. The film expanded to 41 theaters its second weekend, earning $ 562,786, and then grossed $ 859,051 from 129 theaters its third weekend and $ 1 million from 251 theaters its fourth weekend. During its fifth weekend in theaters, the film earned $ 1.06 million from 394 theaters, bringing its total box office gross to over $ 5 million. On

651-472: The most difficult parts of the climb, and one cameraman turns away several times, as he cannot bear to watch. Alex completes the free solo in 3 hours and 56 minutes, celebrating at the top with Jimmy and—over the phone—Sanni. She quickly returns to be with him, and Alex does an interview with a journalist in which he contemplates his future, and the future of free solo climbing. Prior to filming, directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin struggled with

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682-678: The pacing of the film, saying: "Apart from a slow stretch around the hour mark, the filmmakers keep things lively (with a big assist from Marco Beltrami 's pulse-quickening score, the nail-biting opposite of Tim McGraw 's soaring end-credits single, "Gravity")." Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair called the film "bracingly made" and felt the filmmakers properly conveyed the challenges and dangers faced by Honnold in his endeavors: " Free Solo ' s detailed, transfixing portrait of their hero will at least show some sort of barrier to entry, communicating to those eager wannabes that very few people indeed are built quite like Alex Honnold. And thank goodness, in

713-474: The scenes with Honnold and his girlfriend. Sam Wollastan of The Irish Times wrote that the film effectively captures an amazing athletic feat, the emotional development of Honnold, and the budding romance between Honnold and McCandless. Jane Mulkerrins of The Times also praised this emotional development arc, remarking on the duality of the film as it examines Honnold's preparation and climb alongside his relationship with McCandless: "[ Free Solo ] captures

744-512: The slab section of Freeblast , and filmmaker Jimmy Chin worries that the filming is putting unnecessary pressure on Alex. After giving up on his plan to free solo El Capitan that season, Alex and Sanni buy a house in Las Vegas. Then, on June 3, 2017, Alex again attempts a free solo climb of Freerider . Sanni leaves just before he starts, expressing her apprehensions in an interview. The film crew watches nervously as Alex makes his way through each of

775-711: The story of Senegalese democracy, won the Independent Spirit Truer Than Fiction Award in 2015. In 2015, Brandon Wilson from IndieWire wrote that Vasarhelyi's "familiarity with the country pays dividends and elevates the piece from being just another tale of civic dysfunction on the African continent." One of Vasarhelyi's films as a director include the highest grossing independent documentary film of 2015, Meru (Oscars Shortlist 2016; Sundance Audience Award 2015). Variety magazine said: "Jimmy Chin and E. Chai Vasarhelyi's Sundance audience award winner

806-496: The wall that has to be finished with either a jump or a wide "karate kick" stance). Both the crew and Sanni suggest abandoning the plan, and Alex admits he does not want his friends to see him die if he falls while free soloing. News of the death of Swiss climber Ueli Steck , with whom Alex had climbed, causes Alex to reflect on his own risk-taking, but Tommy comments on how little it ultimately seemed to affect Alex. When he finally decides to try to free solo El Capitan, Alex bails after

837-455: The word "love" was not used in his household, as his father lacked the ability to form emotional bonds. Alex and Tommy rappel down Freerider on El Capitan, and Alex outlines his route, discussing the areas about which he is apprehensive. One section offers him two alternative pathways, which he calls "The Teflon Corner" (an internal right-angled section with a smooth slippery surface) and "The Boulder Problem" (a particularly intricate piece of

868-525: Was achieved only thanks to careful planning and practice. The production team captured 700 hours of footage using 12 cameras. This included cameramen on the ground, cameramen on the cliff face, remote trigger cameras, and a helicopter with a 1,000 mm lens to capture the 4k video. The cameramen were able to so effectively capture Honnold’s climb from different vantage points because they were all experienced climbers themselves. Wireless mics could not be used to record sound from Honnold due to his distance from

899-560: Was curated and introduced by Gregory Nava . It selected the best student-produced work around the world. The selection was curated by Barry Jenkins and presented by Nick O'Neill. It selected new works from promising filmmakers. The selection was curated by Barry Jenkins and presented by Nick O'Neill. The section was intended to highlight the work by Iranian writer and director, Saba Riazi. Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi ( / ˌ v ɑː s ə ˈ r ɛ l i / VAH -sə- REL -ee ; born 1977 or 1978)

930-591: Was selected as the guest director of the event. As the guest director, Lethem served as a key collaborator in the festival programming decisions. Telluride honored Alfonso Cuarón , Emma Stone , and Rithy Panh as the Silver Medallion winners. The films were selected and presented by the year's guest director, Jonathan Lethem . The films were selected and presented by Jeffrey Keil and Danielle Pinet. The selection included behind-the-scene movies and portraits of artists, musicians, and filmmakers. The selection

961-502: Was shown at multiple film festivals internationally, including at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, after that. It was released in theaters in the U.S. on September 28. The film grossed $ 17.5 million in the United States and Canada, and $ 11.1 million in other territories, for a total worldwide box office gross of $ 28.6 million. Its opening weekend, Free Solo earned $ 300,804 from four theaters, its per-venue average of $ 75,201 surpassing both Eighth Grade for

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