In “Everest: The Other Side” — screening in Venice and Toronto — they follow ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson as they attempt to do something that has never been done before: ski down the North Face of Mount Everest. But tragedy strikes when Nelson is killed on skiing in Nepal. Jim and Hilaree were our dear friends.
Seeing what happened to that family was very, very difficult,” Vasarhelyi tells Variety. It started as a beautiful love story about someone who found a way to live with profound loss — not forgetting it, but moving through it. No one could have anticipated what happened.” When a friend entrusts you with telling their story, you want to get it right, stresses Chin.
I’ve known Hilaree for over 20 years, and we’ve been on many expeditions together. That’s how you really get to know people. She was an extraordinary human being, and so is Jim,” he says.
That’s really meaningful. It creates another layer of understanding of your partner, especially during these challenging, high stakes moments. You can’t hide anything.” However, some people will never understand Morrison and Nelson’s drive, finding it easier to judge their choices.
That led to Annette Bening and Jodie Foster starrer “Nyad,” about a marathon swimmer who set out to swim from Cuba to Florida, and “Love + War” about photojournalist Lynsey Addario. I wanted to address the complexity of loving what you do and also being committed to your family.” “She was very candid about the paradoxes of being so ambitious while being aware of the certain futility of it all. After all, it’s ‘just a mountain’ — you’re not saving the world.
She was very committed to her responsibilities as a parent. In many ways, that’s why I was interested in making this film,” says Vasarhelyi. Chin is a professional mountaineer as well — but not Vasarhelyi.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
