IDA Conversation Series: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin

Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai-Vasarhelyi are widely known as the filmmakers behind the Academy Award-winning Free Solo (2018), a gripping film that follows Alex Honnold as he becomes the first free solo rock climber to scale El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. The pair’s combined expertise across professional climbing, photography and directing have allowed them to skillfully capture breathtaking moments of human achievement and natural beauty in both Free Solo and the Oscar®-shortlisted Meru (2015). Vasarhelyi's previous films, including Touba (2013) and Incorruptible (2015), have been widely celebrated, winning her awards at Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, the IDA Documentary Awards and more. Chin has led several cutting-edge climbing expeditions across the globe, including Pakistan’s Karakoram Mountains, Tibet’s Chang Tang Plateau, and Mt. Everest, where he conducted the first successful American ski descent. In September 2019, they joined IDA in New York City for an in-depth conversation with Roger Ross Williams, the first African-American Director to win an Academy Award.