Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi ( ; born ) is an American documentary filmmaker. She was the director, along with her husband, Jimmy Chin, for the film ''

Free Solo Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climber (or ''free soloist'') climbs Solo climbing, solo (or alone) without Climbing rope, ropes or other Rock climbing equipment#Protection devices, protective equipmen ...

'', which won the 2019

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards to ''Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. The ...

. The film profiled

Alex Honnold Alex Honnold (born August 17, 1985) is an American rock climber best known for his Free solo climbing, free solo ascents of Big wall climbing, big walls. Honnold rose to worldwide fame in June 2017 when he became the first person to free solo a f ...

and his free solo climb of

El Capitan El Capitan (; ) is a vertical Rock formations in the United States, rock formation in Yosemite National Park, on the north side of Yosemite Valley, near its western end. The El Capitan Granite, granite monolith is about from base to summit alo ...

in June 2017. Vasarhelyi and Chin's first scripted film venture was '' Nyad'', a biopic chronicling

Diana Nyad Diana Nyad (née Sneed; born August 22, 1949) is an American author, journalist, motivational speaker, and long-distance swimming, long-distance swimmer. Nyad gained national attention in 1975 when she swam around Manhattan () in record time. ...

's quest to be the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida.

Early life and education

Vasarhelyi grew up in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and 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 Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Vasarhelyi is a graduate of The Brearley School. She holds a B.A. in

Comparative Literature Comparative literature studies is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and cultural expression across language, linguistic, national, geographic, and discipline, disciplinary boundaries. Comparative literature "performs a role ...

from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Career

Early career

Vasarhelyi's first film, ''A Normal Life'', won Best Documentary at the

Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...

in 2003. She began working on it during her junior year in college, wanting to do something to help after the

ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, or religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making the society ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal such as deportation or population transfer, it ...

and

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

of the

Kosovo War The Kosovo War (; sr-Cyrl-Latn, Косовски рат, Kosovski rat) was an armed conflict in Kosovo that lasted from 28 February 1998 until 11 June 1999. It ...

. After her junior year, she and Hugo Berkeley, who had just graduated from Princeton, went to

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

to make a documentary. They arrived 10 days after the war ended, heading to

Pristina Pristina or Prishtina ( , ), . is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and District of Pristina, district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian Kingdo ...

, where they met groups of passionate young journalists and activists and decided to center the documentary there. This became a 25-minute work, ''Reconstructing Kosovo'', that Vasarhelyi used in her thesis on comparative literature, but she and Berkeley then expanded it into an hour-long documentary for public release. The final documentary centers on seven youth: journalists Nebi Qena and Garentina Kraja; soloist from the Jericho group, Petrit Çarkaxhiu; director, Kaltrina Krasniqi; Ylber Bajraktari, Driton Bekqeli and Linda Gusia; as well as publisher of the newspaper '' Koha Ditore'', Veton Surroi. The documentary also brings in its two creators as characters, watching them learn about the war and relate to their subjects. The film follows the group of activists for three years after the war, watching them make change and become leaders of the new state as they recover from trauma and despair. ''A Normal LIfe'' was selected to show at 2003 documentary festivals like

Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, and

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and was also shown by the

Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is a New York City–based 501(c)(3) public charity serving international affairs professionals, teachers and students, and the attentive public. Founded in 1914, and originally named ''Ch ...

. Vasarhelyi worked in 2004 as an assistant to director

Mike Nichols Mike Nichols (born Igor Mikhail Peschkowsky; November 6, 1931 – November 19, 2014) was an American film and theatre director and comedian. He worked across a range of genres and had an aptitude for getting the best out of actors regardless of ...

on the film '' Closer'' and has worked extensively with Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Scott Duncan documenting events such as the

Dakar Rally The Dakar Rally () or simply "The Dakar" (), formerly known as the Paris–Dakar Rally (), is an annual rally raid organised by the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO). It is an off-road endurance event traversing terrain much tougher than convent ...

Solo directing

Vasarhelyi's 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 a nomination for the Pare Lorentz Award at the 2009 International Documentary Association Awards. Vasarhelyi worked on the film for five years, moving to Africa for its production, and stated that this period was personally fulfilling but very tough on her relationships: at one point during shooting, she had to miss her grandmother's funeral. She wanted to make an uplifting, musical film about Africa, and she admired the film's subject,

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, ; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' described him as, "perhaps the m ...

, praising his voice and dedication to his principles. She stated that once you see his band, Super Etoile, "you'll follow them to the edge of the earth." In 2013, Vasarhelyi completed ''Touba'', a documentary on the annual Mouride pilgrimage, the Grand Magaal in

Touba, Senegal Touba (Hassaniya Arabic: , 'Felicity'; Wolof language, Wolof: Tuubaa) is a city in central Senegal, part of Diourbel Region and Mbacké district. With a population of 1,120,824 in 2023, it is the List of cities in Senegal, second most populated ...

. It premiered at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

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''), 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."

Sports documentaries

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 Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' magazine said: "Jimmy Chin and E. Chai Vasarhelyi's Sundance audience award winner is one of the best sports documentaries of its type in recent years." Vasarhelyi and Chin's 2018 film ''

'' 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 ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' called ''Free Solo'' "an engaging study of 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 a ''New York Times'' Op Doc, an episode for Netflix's non-fiction design series ''ABSTRACT,'' and two episodes for

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's non-fiction series ''Future of Sports''. ''Free Solo'' won the 2019

''Nyad''

In 2023, Vasarhelyi and Chin released their first fictional film, a sports drama dramatizing the story of

's 110-mile swim from

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

Key West Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it con ...

, Florida. The directors stated they were drawn to the story because it featured an impossible dream and centered complex female stories. Vasarhelyi praised the lead actress, Annete Bening, for her embodiment of Nyad and her physical understanding of the narrative.

Recognition

Vasarhelyi has received grants from the

Sundance Institute Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by actor Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and compo ...

, the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

, the

Rockefeller Brothers Fund The Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) is a philanthropic foundation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was founded in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle for the five third-generation Rockefeller brothe ...

, Bertha Britdoc, the William and Mary Greve Foundation and the National Endowment of the Arts. She was selected as a 2013

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...

Documentary Film Fellow, named one of ''

Filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

'' magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2005^{/sup> and received an Achievement Award from Creative Visions foundation in 2008.

Personal life

Vasarhelyi married Jimmy Chin, a photographer for ''National Geographic

''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
'' and a professional skier and climber, on May 26, 2013. They have two children. Vasarhelyi met Chin at a conference at Lake Tahoe in 2012.

Awards

*2003: Tribeca Film Festival

The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
Best Documentary Feature for ''A Normal Life''
*2008: Middle East International Film Festival Special Jury Prize for ''Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love''
*2008: International Documentary Association

International Documentary Association (IDA), founded in 1982, is a non-profit 501(c)(3) that promotes nonfiction filmmakers, and is dedicated to increasing public awareness for the documentary genre. Their major program areas are: Advocacy, Film ...
Pare Lorentz Award (nominee) for ''Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love''
*2008: Bahamas International Film Festival Audience Award for ''Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love''
*2008: Bahamas International Film Festival Spirit of Freedom Award for ''Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love''
*2008: DC International Film Festival Audience Award for ''Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love''
*2008: São Paulo International Film Festival

The São Paulo International Film Festival (), also known internationally as Mostra, is an annual film festival held in the city of São Paulo, Brazil

Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South Ame ...
Audience Award for ''Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love''
*2008: Nashville Film Festival

The Nashville Film Festival (NashFilm), held annually in Nashville, Tennessee, is the oldest running film festival in the South and one of the oldest in the United States. In 2016, Nashville Film Festival received more than 6,700 submissions from ...
Music of Impact Award for ''Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love''
*Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
Special Presentation for ''Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love''
*2013: SXSW

South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
Special Jury Prize for Best Cinematography for ''Touba''
*2015: Independent Spirit Truer Than Fiction Award Winner for ''Incorruptible''
*2015: Woodstock Film Festival

The Woodstock Film Festival is an American film festival launched in 2000 by filmmakers Meira Blaustein and Laurent Rejto in the Hudson Valley region of New York. The festival takes place each fall in the towns of Woodstock, Rosendale and Saug ...
Maverick Award for Best Feature Documentary for ''Incorruptible''
*2015: One World Film Festival Václav Havel Jury Award for ''Incorruptible''
*2015: Oscar

Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:

People and fictional and mythical characters
* Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar
* Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...
Shortlist for Best Documentary Feature for ''Meru''
*2015: Sundance
A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony.

Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to:

Places
;Canada
* Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood
* Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town

;United States
* Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...
Audience Award Winner for ''Meru''
*2015: Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best Documentary for ''Meru''
*2015: DGA Award Nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary for ''Meru''
*2015: PGA Award Nomination for Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures for ''Meru''
*2015: Cinema Eye Honors Audience Choice Prize Winner for ''Meru''
*2015: Cinema Eye Honors Award Winner for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for ''Meru''
*2015: Cinema Eye Honors Award Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Production for ''Meru''
*2015: Cinema Eye Honors Award Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Score for ''Meru''
*2015: The New York Times

''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
, Critics' Pick for '' Meru''
*2016: Oscar's Shortlist for '' Meru''
*2018: People's Choice Documentary award at Toronto International Film Fest for ''Free Solo

Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climber (or ''free soloist'') climbs Solo climbing, solo (or alone) without Climbing rope, ropes or other Rock climbing equipment#Protection devices, protective equipmen ...
'' "Chai Vasarhelyi." Free The Bid. Accessed November 15, 2018. https://www.freethebid.com/directors/chai-vasarhelyi/ .
*2018: Mill Valley Film Festival Valley of the Docs People's Choice awards
*2018: Virginia Film Festival

The Virginia Film Festival is a program of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. The film festival is held annually during 4 days, usually in late October or early November.
History

Created in October 1988, the Virginia Festival of Am ...
Documentary Feature Audience Award
*2018: Critics Choice Award for Best Documentary for ''Free Solo'' "Documentary Awards." Critics' Choice Awards. Accessed November 15, 2018. http://www.criticschoice.com/documentary-awards/ .
*2018: Critics Choice Award for Best Sports Documentary for ''Free Solo''
*2019: BAFTA Award for Best Documentary

The BAFTA Award for Best Documentary is a film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) at the British Academy Film Awards. It was formerly known as the Robert Flaherty Documentary Award.

In the followi ...
for ''Free Solo''
*2019: Academy Award

The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
for Best Documentary Feature for ''Free Solo''
*2019: Emmy Award

The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for Outstanding Directing For A Documentary/Nonfiction Program - 2019 for ''Free Solo''
*2019: Emmy Award

The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media within an Unscripted Program - 2019 for ''Free Solo

Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climber (or ''free soloist'') climbs Solo climbing, solo (or alone) without Climbing rope, ropes or other Rock climbing equipment#Protection devices, protective equipmen ...
: 360''

Filmography

*2003: ''A Normal Life''
*2008: '' Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love''
*2013: ''Touba''
*2015: ''Incorruptible''
*2015: '' Meru''
*2017: '' Abstract: The Art of Design'' (TV series documentary)
*2018: ''Free Solo

Free solo climbing, or free soloing, is a form of rock climbing where the climber (or ''free soloist'') climbs Solo climbing, solo (or alone) without Climbing rope, ropes or other Rock climbing equipment#Protection devices, protective equipmen ...
''
*2018: ''Enhanced'' (TV series documentary)
*2021: '' The Rescue''
*2022: '' Return to Space''
*2022: ''Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin''
*2023: ''Angel City'' (TV series documentary)
*2023: ''Wild Life''
*2023: '' Nyad''

References

A Mountaineer in ManhattanWall Street Journal, June 5, 2009THE TREATMENT/Elvis Mitchell: Chai Vasarhelyi interview, July 8, 2009Elle.com interview with Chai Vasarhelyi, July 1, 2009New York Magazine May 10, 2009

External links

*
*
*
Meru
' website
Chai Vasarhelyi"
, Freethebid.com

''New York Times'' Op-Doc Opinion piece by Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasarhelyi, Elizabeth Chai
Living people
American documentary filmmakers
American film directors of Hong Kong descent
American people of Hungarian descent
Brearley School alumni
Directors of Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winners
Film directors from New York City
Princeton University alumni
Primetime Emmy Award winners
American women documentary filmmakers
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American women}