National Geographic (DStv 181 / StarSat 220 / Cell C black 262) has acquired Free Solo, the Bafta award-winning and Oscar-nominated documentary film from the award-winning documentary film-maker E. Chai Vasarhelyi and the world-renowned photographer and mountaineer Jimmy Chin for broadcast on Monday 4 March at 21:00.
Free Solo is an unflinching portrait of free soloist climber Alex Honnold as he prepares to achieve his lifelong dream: climbing the face of the world’s most famous rock, the El Capitan in the Yosemite National Park in the United States without a rope.
Free Solo is described as "an edge-of-your seat thriller and an inspiring portrait of an athlete who
challenges both his body and his beliefs on a quest to triumph over the impossible, revealing
the personal toll of excellence".
As Alex Honnold begins his training, the armour of invincibility he has built up over decades unexpectedly breaks apart when he begins to fall in love, threatening his focus and giving way to injury and setbacks.
Free Solo captures deeply human moments with Alex Honnold as well as the death-defying climb
with artistry and masterful, vertigo-inducing camerawork.
"Alex Honnold's Free Solo climb is an awe-inspiring testimony to the power of perseverance
and tenacity, as he completes this incredible athletic feat," says Evert Van Der Veer, vice-president and general manager for Fox Networks Group Africa.
"Watching him pursue his lifelong dream, climbing the 3 200 foot Al Capitan without ropes is both petrifying and exhilarating."
