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Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Director, producer and writer · Born January 1, 1979 (47) · New York City, New York, USA

Oscar winner · 2 Primetime Emmys · BAFTA Award winner · 4 other major award bodies

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi is an American documentary filmmaker. She was the director, along with her husband, Jimmy Chin, for the film Free Solo, which won the 2019 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film profiled Alex Honnold and his free solo climb of El Capitan in June 2017. Their first scripted film venture was Nyad, a biopic chronicling Diana Nyad's quest to be the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida. Vasarhelyi grew up in New York City, 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. Vasarhelyi is a graduate of The Brearley School. She holds a B.A. in Comparative Literature from Princeton University.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
January 1, 1979 (47)
From
New York City, New York, USA
Works as
Director, producer and writer
Titles
18 on MovieCove · 25 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 6% in 30 days

What are Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's films like?

Across their 17 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Society.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
32%
Society
25%
Survival
21%
Ideas
19%
Bonds
2%
Power
1%
Survival5 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity6 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose5 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition4 titles, browse their movies with this themeArt2 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy4 titles, browse their movies with this themeObsession3 titles, browse their movies with this themeFaith2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 13 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Grounded: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their grounded movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

Grounded 7 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 0

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

A split, not a type: Gentle 2 · Charged 2 · Intense 9

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

Steady 5 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 1

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0

Even-paced: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their even-paced movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 6 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 2

Resolved: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their resolved movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 10 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 1

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
11
Hopeful
13
Contemplative
11
Triumphant
5
Elegiac
2
Other
5

How their films linger

Hopeful13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteRousing13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy8
  • Bittersweet3
  • Ambiguous3
  • Cyclical1
  • Other1

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 14 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (8).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

25 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page; 2 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

  • Everest: The Other Side (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Director · Producer · Writer

  • The Lake(2026)

    Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films

  • Love+War(2025)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all films

  • Lost in the Jungle(2024)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films

  • Endurance(2024)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 92nd percentile of all films

  • Photographer(2024)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 82nd percentile of all shows

  • Nyad(2023)

    Director

    Midcredits score: 84th percentile of all films

  • Angel City(2023)

    Show 3 episodes · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all shows

  • Wild Life(2023)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin(2022)

    Show 10 episodes · Director · Executive Producer

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows

  • Return to Space(2022)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • The Rescue(2021)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible(2021)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Enhanced (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Show 2 episodes · Director

  • What if He Falls? (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Director

  • Free Solo(2018)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Abstract: The Art of Design(2017)

    Show Director

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all shows

  • The Fourth Phase(2016)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Incorruptible (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Director

  • Meru(2015)

    Director · Editor · Producer

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Touba(2013)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 55th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)

  • Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love(2008)

    Director · Producer · Writer

    Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films

  • A Normal Life (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Cinematographer · Editor · Producer · Writer · as Narrator

  • Bartali (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • Into The Unknown (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Show Creator

Career shape

A full career of 22 titles, 19 of them dated from 2003 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Free Solo (2018)

$29M worldwide

Highest rated

The Rescue (2021)

Midcredits 99th

Most popular right now

Endurance (2024)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 22: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting18 of 22: 5 only directing, 13 with another role · typical Midcredits score83rdWriting3 of 22: 0 only writing, 3 with another roleProducing16 of 22: 3 only producing, 13 with another role · typical Midcredits score82ndCinematography1 of 22: 0 only cinematography, 1 with another roleEditing2 of 22: 0 only editing, 2 with another roleOther crew1 of 22: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

22 titles, 13 with more than one role — directing and producing overlap on 13 of them.

By decade

2000s2 · 1 acting · 2 crew2010s6 · crew2020s11 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

an Oscar, 2 Primetime Emmys, a BAFTA Award and 2 other major awards from 15 major nominations, 2015–2025.

WinNomination
  1. 2025
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best New Non-Scripted or Documentary Series
  2. 2022
    • BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Documentary
    • +1 other major body · 1 nomination
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
  3. 2019
    • Oscar, won · Best Documentary Feature
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media within an Unscripted Program
    • Primetime Emmy, won · Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program
    • BAFTA Award, won · Best Documentary
    • +2 other major bodies · 2 nominations
      • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
      • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
  4. 2016
    • Directors Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
    • Producers Guild Award, nominated · Outstanding Producer of Documentary Theatrical Motion Pictures
    • Independent Spirit Award, won
    • Independent Spirit Award, nominated · Best Documentary
  5. 2015
    • Sundance award, won · Documentary
    • Sundance award, nominated · Documentary

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 83rd percentile, the median of all 14; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 79th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

79thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 13

Approval · how many liked their films

86thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 13

Reach · how many have seen their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 13

Midcredits score across 18 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up14
  • 50th to 74th3
  • 25th to 49th1

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 18 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Divisive1
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · director, producer

Touba (2013)

95th percentile spread · 35% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, producer

The Rescue (2021)

Midcredits 99th · 96% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 76/100 and the pacing 50/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.

Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.

Is Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's work okay for kids?

Across up to 5 MovieCove titles with content scores, 1 of the 5 categories sits near the median of all films.

Their medianMedian of all filmsMiddle 80% of their titles
Violence & Gore3 titlesmedian 19 · mildMedian of all films: 44
Sex & Nudity4 titlesmedian 13 · minimalMedian of all films: 32
Profanity5 titles32–42 · median 36 · moderatenear the median of all filmsMedian of all films: 36
Alcohol & Drugs4 titlesmedian 21 · mildMedian of all films: 33
Frightening / Intense4 titlesmedian 55 · moderateMedian of all films: 39

Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.

Who does Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi work with?

People who share at least 2 of Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Jimmy Chin shares the most, 14.

Directors

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles