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Jimmy Chin

Jimmy Chin

Producer, director, actor and cinematographer · Born October 12, 1973 (53) · Mankato, Minnesota, USA

Oscar winner · 3 Primetime Emmys · BAFTA Award winner · 4 other major award bodies

Jimmy Chin (born October 12, 1973) is an American professional climber, mountaineer, skier, director and photographer. He has organized and led numerous climbing, ski-mountaineering and exploratory expeditions to China, Pakistan, Nepal, Tanzania, Chad, Mali, South Africa, Borneo, India and Argentina. His achievements include climbing and skiing Mount Everest from the summit, making first ascents of big walls and alpine towers in the Karakoram Mountains of Pakistan and the Garwhal Himalayas of Northern India, crossing the Chang Tang Plateau in north-western Tibet on foot. Chin's work documenting expeditions and climbs has been featured in numerous publications, including National Geographic, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Outside magazine and others. In 2019, Chin was awarded the National Geographic "Photographer's Photographer Award" by his peers. His first book of photography documenting his career in the mountains, There and Back, became a New York Times Best Seller in 2021. Chin co-directs with his wife Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi. Together they directed the documentary Meru, which won numerous awards including the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and was shortlisted for an Academy Award, and Free Solo, which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, a BAFTA and seven Primetime Emmys. Free Solo had the highest-grossing opening weekend in history for a documentary.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
October 12, 1973 (53)
From
Mankato, Minnesota, USA
Works as
Producer, director, actor and cinematographer
Titles
16 on MovieCove · 27 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Down 26% in 30 days

What are Jimmy Chin's films like?

Across their 16 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
43%
Survival
25%
Ideas
16%
Society
14%
Bonds
2%
Survival6 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose6 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition5 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity4 titles, browse their movies with this themeNature3 titles, browse their movies with this themeSelf-worth2 titles, browse their movies with this themeObsession3 titles, browse their movies with this themeLegacy3 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

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

Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · 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 12 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 0

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

Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 9 · 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 1 · Engaged 9 · Full focus 3

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

Resolved 10 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
11
Hopeful
13
Contemplative
9
Triumphant
4
Thrilling
2
Other
6

How their films linger

Rousing13 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful12 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking6 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Happy7
  • Bittersweet5
  • Ambiguous2
  • 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 Jimmy Chin's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 13 of their 16 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Disney+ (8).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Jimmy Chin'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

27 credits, 16 with a MovieCove page; 6 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.

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

    Director · Cinematographer · 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 · Cinematographer · Producer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin(2022)

    Show 10 episodes · Director · Executive Producer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all shows

  • Return to Space(2022)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films

  • 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible(2021)

    Executive Producer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • La Liste : Everything or Nothing (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Actor

  • The Rescue(2021)

    Director · Producer

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • Queen Maud Land (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2018)

    Actor

  • Reel Rock 13(2018)

    Actor

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

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

    Director

  • Free Solo(2018)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · as Self

    Midcredits score: 99th percentile of all films

  • The Fourth Phase(2016)

    Producer

    Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films

  • Meru(2015)

    Director · Cinematographer · Producer · as Himself

    Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films

  • Reel Rock 7 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · as Self

  • The Shark's Fin (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)

    Director · Actor

  • Reel Rock (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)

    Show 1 episode · Actor

  • Strings (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1991)

    VFX Artist

  • Bartali (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director · Producer

  • In Tandem (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Executive Producer

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

    Show Creator

Career shape

A full career of 26 titles, 22 of them dated from 1991 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
Acting5 of 26: 4 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting15 of 26: 3 only directing, 12 with another role · typical Midcredits score85thWriting1 of 26: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing16 of 26: 5 only producing, 11 with another role · typical Midcredits score82ndCinematography4 of 26: 0 only cinematography, 4 with another roleOther crew2 of 26: 2 only other crew, 0 with another role

26 titles, 12 with more than one role — producing and directing overlap on 11 of them.

By decade

1990s1 · crew2010s8 · 4 acting · 5 crew2020s13 · 1 acting · 12 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, 3 Primetime Emmys, a BAFTA Award and 1 other major award 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 Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program
    • 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, 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 Jimmy Chin's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 86th percentile, the median of all 13; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 84th percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

84thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 13

Approval · how many liked their films

90thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 13

Reach · how many have seen their films

78thpercentile
Typical film, the median of 13

Midcredits score across 16 titles, by percentile

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

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 16 titles are Universally Loved.

  • Universally Loved7
  • Crowd Pleaser6
  • Mixed3

Most divisive · producer

Angel City (2023)

76th percentile spread · 24% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · director, producer

The Rescue (2021)

Midcredits 99th · 96% liked

Reviewers score the atmosphere 77/100 and the pacing 49/100 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 Jimmy Chin'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 Jimmy Chin work with?

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

Directors

Actors

Cinematographers and editors

Producers

Mixed roles