Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, left, and Jimmy Chin accept the award for best documentary feature for “Free Solo” at the Oscars on Sunday, Feb. 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. (Invision/AP)
LOS ANGELES — “Free Solo” climbed to the top of the Oscars, winning best documentary feature.
The film about rock climber Alex Honnold’s quest to achieve a free solo climb of El Capitan in June 2017 was honored on Sunday night.
Directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi were challenged by the conditions: filming Honnold without affecting his climb of 3,000 feet of sheer granite and getting sound because he was often too far from the camera.
“This film is for everyone who believes in the impossible,” Chai Vasarhelyi said on stage. “It was the work of an army.”
The film has grossed over $19 million worldwide.