Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

The mission of professional mountain climbers is almost impossibly difficult by design: Their very livelihood is based on achieving the unprecedented. Their expeditions are complicated, exhausting, often life-threatening. Risk is the fuel that keeps them going. ”

As a director, people are trusting you with their lives, with their stories. ”

Literature has guided me through my whole life. ”

I wish I could say I've been following Youssou N'Dour all my life. I haven't. ”

As a documentary filmmaker, 'Meru' was an irresistible challenge. You can spend years searching for the right story, but this one had all the elements: the obstacles, the characters, and the drama. ”

I was fortunate to come from a family that supported my dreams. ”

Climbing is an understated culture. ”

Documentaries require an enormous amount of grit and empathy - and that is something women are incredibly strong at. ”

My father filmed me all the time as a kid, and that's how I was first exposed to a camera. ”

The cinematography and the conditions in which 'Meru' was filmed drew me to the project. It's remarkable to think that everything in the film is real; these three men set out to attempt this impossible climb and to film it at the same time. ”