Jimmy Chin And Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi On Being Married To Filmmaking And Each Other, Plus The Challenges Faced On Their Narrative Debut ‘Nyad’ – Behind The Lens

With an Oscar, five Emmys, a BAFTA award and major wins across many top film festivals including Toronto and Sundance, Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi have risen to the top of the list of documentary filmmakers working today. Their celebrated films include the 2018 Academy Award-winning Free Solo, 2015’s Meru, 2021’s The Rescue, Return to Space, the current Wild Life and many more.

Not content to rest on their laurels, the husband-and-wife filmmaking team ventured into their first narrative film, Nyad, the story of Olympic champion swimmer Diana Nyad as she attempted a swim traversing the distances between Florida and Cuba at age 60, decades after her first failed attempt when she was in her prime as a champion. The film, now streaming on Netflix, stars Annette Bening in the title role, and Jodie Foster as her coach and friend Bonnie, and has won high acclaim since premiering at Telluride over Labor Day weekend plus much Oscar buzz.

Jimmy and Chai join me for this week’s episode of my Deadline video series Behind The Lens to talk about taking on this unique challenge, the initial fear of directing icons like Bening and Foster, the daunting logistics of shooting in water, how they successfully work together and still keep their marriage intact. Plus, they discuss the unique documentary techniques they brought to their first narrative venture.

To watch our conversation and go “behind the lens” with Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, click o the video aboe.

Join me every Friday during Oscar season for a new edition of Behind the Lens. And join me Monday, December 4 for a special Behind the Lens conversation with legendary writer-director-producer James L. Brooks.