Exclusive: A Conversation with Alex Honnold and Co-Directors of “Free Solo” | National Geographic

I definitely have a fear of death, same as anybody else, and I would very much like to not die while climbing. You know, I was this huge, huge wall. But all it takes is one move that doesn't feel right for you not to be able to do it.

Maybe in 2015, I started talking to Jimmy and Shy about making a feature film with me. I didn't want some film about me living in my van and going climbing. I want it film, okay? So I was like, that is, that deserves the big screen. You know, I mean, okay, if it's the most inspiring wall in the world, it should be seen on a big, big screen if it's ever gonna be shot.

We also really wanted to push, you know, the cinematography and how it was covered. And, you know, this is a once in a lifetime, maybe once in many, many lifetime event. So we had to have a team that was literally almost all professional climbers and great cinematographers.

The mind-boggling part for me always was then you have a subject that doesn't have a rope. So adding that psychological dimension and the pressure that brought had brought with it, and just the weight that they carried, and there was heavy. Yeah, close friends.

And I think that Jimmy and I were really looking to make a film about Alex at a depth that could explore his character because the character is fascinating.

It was interesting because I'd sort of envisioned that as making a climbing film, which I have a lot of experience with as a professional climber. And that whole aspect of it was sort of fine.

What wound up being sort of challenging for me was the Verity side: all the real-life footage, like my home life and my relationship with my girlfriend, saw me, and just what it meant to have a camera around me all the time when I wasn't on the wall.

I mean, the film unfolds over two years, and it's basically just a two-year snapshot on my life. And it's pretty, pretty honest and pretty, pretty bare. You know, like that's it, that's it's all, it's all there. [Music]