Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

As a director, people are trusting you with their lives, with their stories.

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

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

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

My love was always in books. I was just one of those avid readers. Films came later, but the stories were always…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Growing up biracial and speaking four languages - French, Chinese, Portuguese, and English - gave me a different lens. I was always…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

My father filmed me all the time as a kid, and that's how I was first exposed to a camera.

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

I've always sought to give opportunities to women, to people who come from a different background, to add diversity to the mix…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

I always wonder about the word 'intense.' 'Intense' is used to describe women. Guys are intense, but they don't get described that…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

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

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

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

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Color is everything. It's another piece of the visual language to express what you're trying to say.

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

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

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

The cinematography and the conditions in which 'Meru' was filmed drew me to the project. It's remarkable to think that everything in…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Parenthood has made me more cautious.

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

As a documentary filmmaker, 'Meru' was an irresistible challenge. You can spend years searching for the right story, but this one had…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Professionally, I made my first film at 20 in a war zone in Kosovo.

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

I think that documentaries are bound by journalistic ethics, and I think they have the pressure of trying to entertain someone for…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

There's something about 'Free Solo' that I look at the craft around it, and I'm really proud.

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

'Free Solo' has got nothing to do with politics, so to speak, but why are audiences responding to it in the degree…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

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

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

You just hope that your kids find what they love to do and abide by the law and make good decisions. The…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

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

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

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

Literature has guided me through my whole life.

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

That's what happens in feature docs. The more time you spend, the more nuance emerges, the more a story evolves - but…

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

There are very few things of virtuosity or genius that you can actually witness.

— Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi