Documentary filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, known for "Free Solo," have made what they describe as their most personal film yet, "Everest: The Other Side," premiering at the Venice and Toronto film festivals. The film follows ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson attempting an unprecedented descent of Mount Everest's North Face, but its narrative was upended when Nelson, a close friend of both directors, was killed while skiing in Nepal. The project underscores the emotional toll of documentary filmmaking, as the couple set out to capture a love story built on shared passion and instead had to reckon with sudden tragedy.

Vasarhelyi, who previously explored women's experiences of ambition and risk in "Nyad" and "Love + War," said she wanted to address the complexity many women face in balancing high-stakes careers with family responsibilities, noting Nelson had been candid about these tensions. Chin, himself a professional mountaineer and longtime friend of Nelson's for over 20 years, said understanding the "culture and values" of extreme pursuits was essential to telling the story faithfully. The film, produced by Little Monster Films and National Geographic Documentary Films and distributed by Disney in the US, was shot in partnership with Imax to capture the Himalayan landscape, echoing a format the directors first considered for "Free Solo."