made the jump from film festival darling to silver screen surprise earlier this summer, and this month it has come to home theaters via and . The film follows mountaineers Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk as they attempt the first summit of the Shark’s Fin of Mount Meru in India. It racked up accolades at Mountainfilm and Banff Film Festival and was widely praised by the climbing community. It also debuted last week in the number one slot on the iTunes documentary chart and, on November 11, collected four nominations.
“The trick was to craft a film that spoke a universal truth that everyone could relate to and make sure that it still speaks authentically to the core community as well,” Chin told ϳԹ on Wednesday. “That spread—from ten-year-old girls who felt like they got something out of it, to salty old alpinists—means a lot to me.”
To celebrate the film’s Amazon release, Chin, who co-directed the film with his wife E. Chai Vasarhelyi, hosted a Twitter Q&A where he answered everything from “Do you like Alex Honnold?” (Yes, very much) to “What do you always travel with?” (Music).
“It’s an interesting way to engage the audience because I think there are a lot of people who have questions and you don’t always get an opportunity to connect with them,” Chin said.
Here are some of our favorite responses:
@thebenshanahan asked: What is the most dangerous climb you've ever done?
The direct North Face on Mount Everest. It's a 9000ft face that starts at 20,000.Lots of exposure to avalanches…
— Jimmy Chin (@jimkchin)