Growing up biracial and speaking four languages - French, Chinese, Portuguese, and English - gave me a different lens. I was always very acutely aware of coming from a different perspective. I think that definitely contributed to what I chose to do with my life.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Categorized in : Me My Life Life Perspective

I was fortunate to come from a family that supported my dreams.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

come dreams fortunate family

Documentaries require an enormous amount of grit and empathy - and that is something women are incredibly strong at.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

grit empathy women strong

The mission of professional mountain climbers is almost impossibly difficult by design: Their very livelihood is based on achieving the unprecedented. Their expeditions are complicated, exhausting, often life-threatening. Risk is the fuel that keeps them going.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

professional mission mountain design

Parenthood has made me more cautious.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

more me cautious made

I was no stranger to risk myself, having made documentaries in dangerous conditions in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Africa.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

africa myself dangerous risk

I've always sought to give opportunities to women, to people who come from a different background, to add diversity to the mix - in that I think it makes our work better.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

women diversity work people

In the past, I think my films that focused on African subjects struggled in the marketplace because of their subject matter.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

think focused matter past

I truly believe our work is an extension of who we are, and I constantly strive to push myself and my teams.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

push myself work believe

As a documentary filmmaker, 'Meru' was an irresistible challenge. You can spend years searching for the right story, but this one had all the elements: the obstacles, the characters, and the drama.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

challenge story you obstacles

The cinematography and the conditions in which 'Meru' was filmed drew me to the project. It's remarkable to think that everything in the film is real; these three men set out to attempt this impossible climb and to film it at the same time.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

me impossible time men

I joined 'Meru' midstream after my co-director Jimmy Chin had already filmed the 2008 and 2011 climbs.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

joined chin after had

At its heart, 'Meru' is a personal story.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

personal-story personal story heart

My parents are both immigrants, and we traveled a lot.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

both parents traveled immigrants

I grew up in New York City, but the rest of the world was a very big part of my upbringing.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

rest city new world

I went to Princeton to major in comparative literature. I never went to film school, but I studied storytelling across mediums - poems, literature, film, and journalism.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

never journalism literature school

The top climbers in the world had attempted this climb and couldn't do it. That history is what makes Meru special.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

climb special history world

That's what happens in feature docs. The more time you spend, the more nuance emerges, the more a story evolves - but it's different than fiction, where you can reshoot something.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

something story you time

I wish I could say I've been following Youssou N'Dour all my life. I haven't.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

i-wish my-life wish life

There have been some wonderful climbing films, but for the most part, they are reenactments.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

some been climbing wonderful

You just hope that your kids find what they love to do and abide by the law and make good decisions. The best you can do is instill such values in them.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

best good hope love