(upbeat music)
- [Gregg] How do each of you decide
what role you'll play
either as a character
in a film or as a narrator?
- [Chai] We really struggled with this,
like on Free Solo where,
and it's kind of the virture
of the directing partnership
where I can kind of
torture my directing partner,
which is also my husband
because he has to be in the film.
But, we were very reluctant
to always do this,
but then it became very
clear that the ethical
question that's, like,
the existential center
of this film had to be grappled
with in the film itself.
By revealing how we were
doing this and the discussions
that were happening around this.
And also, just the story
telling point of view.
Like, that, ya know,
Alex was alone and you need
someone to respond to him.
To help an audience...
- [Tim] That camera man you help respond,
it's just the most extraordinary.
It sort of makes up that last
sequence is extraordinary
anyway, but having the camera person,
like, freaking out.
And you get that he's,
like, a harden professional.
And he's still having that reaction.
- Oh no, yes and he has that
reaction because he knew
the route the best.
So he knows exactly where
the difficult parts are.
But Jimmy never wanted to
be a part of the movie.
And, ya know.
(laughing)
- You forced him.
- Yes, it's a wonderful
thing about this directing
partnership is like it's
really, really important
and you do in.
But how to do it, the
moderation, the degree
without taking away from
your subject itself.
It's hard.
(upbeat bass guitar)
- [Gregg] We're in the age of Trump
and everything is political these days.
Are there aspects of the film
that came out differently
or may have met it with
a different reaction from
audiences because of the moment
we're living in right now?
- We've been having this
debate around Free Solo,
this conversation, because
here it is a film that
has got nothing to do
with politics so to speak,
but why are audiences
responding to it in the
degree that they did.
I think it's because we
give people an opportunity
to see someone who actually
does something, right,
who has this vision,
actually does something.
And that also he's able
to connect when you don't
think he could connect.
Ultimately it's about people
working together in some way.
And it's a res pet.
But, like, the film was
released the day of the
Kavanaugh hearings and
like getting up to do
those Q&A and like looking
at the audience when all
I want to do is, like, look on Twitter
and see what happened.
It was really emotional for us,
but then it was also,
like, a res pet from what
we were living.
And like an inspiring story of courage.
Like that, ya know, we
can all have this vision
and work really hard and do something.
Thank goodness for documentary films.
- Well I think the metaphor of your film,
like, fits really well right now
to a certain extent we're all
just like pushed up against
(laughing)
Clinging on by the skin of
our fingers with just like
a little bit of chalk to
keep ourselves on lock.
(crossover talking with laughter)
- We get through, we get to the top.
(bass guitar)
- [Tim] I just, like, time is like,
for a documentary film maker,
time is a great antagonist.
In my experience, the
longer you can stretch that,
ya know, we got 6 decades in our film.
But even, ya know, with Alex,
ya know, having to climb
before the end of this climbing season
and having to make it.
Or before he gets to old
to, kind of attempt it,
ya know, it's kind of a
central theme of all the
best docs I thought.
- It became like essential
idea that you only have
a finite amount of time.
And that was really important to him.
And it actually made me
think a lot about how
much time I have and what
I'm doing with my time.
- We see so simply in the film, ya know,
there's a solute, you can die at any time.
- Yeah.
- And there's this illusion
that that's not the truth.
And the fact that he
does what he does is just
a constant reminder, which is a constant
reminder for us.
- It's a really good
reminder that we have relish
every single day and, like,
live it with intention.
- I mean how conscious are
you when you're assembling
your film of eliciting
an emotional response
from the audience?
- We knew that the climb
was going to be terrifying.
Ya know, and I will say
that we did become immune
from editing and editing and editing,
but we knew that.
And it was also always
about how can we manage
that for our audience.
We began making this
film and Alex was online
dating and setting up dates in
every stop of his book tour.
(laughing)
So our great surprise is
when he brought a woman home.
Sanni.
It just really provided this
opportunity with the film
for us to make it about a
connection where we could
really build something.
So it was about climbing, but
it was also about connecting
and falling in love.
I didn't understand what
sort of experience it would
be when we made this film.
And then watching it
with the first audience
we were like woah.
(light upbeat bass guitar)
