If you thought that the Oscar-winning Free Solo was a wild ride, you better take a deep breath and buckle up before you watch Everest: The Other Side.

After following rock climber Alex Honnold in Free Solo, directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin this time follow a couple of passionate adventurers who push themselves to the limits of the possible and of human endurance. They are Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson, who share the dream of becoming the first to successfully climb up and ski down the north face of Everest.

As you can imagine, the idea causes concern among friends and family. Everest: The Other Side, which currently screens at the 70th edition of the BFI London Film Festival (LFF), is  a compelling and moving portrait of perseverance,  the festival website says.

Discussing the Walt Disney Studios movie at LFF, Vasarhelyi and producer Shannon Dill (The Price of Free, He Named Me Malala) told THR about upping the stakes for their latest cinematic adventure.

 A lot of my work has looked at this fundamental human condition, where you've got these audacious dreams, but also the psychosis, diligence and determination or drive to do the work to get there,  shared Vasarhelyi.  Hilaree was what disarmed me. She was very candid about her drive and her obsession with these outdoor feats, but also, she didn't romanticize it. She said:  It's a mountain. It may not matter [to others], but it means everything to me. 

The two women's kids hung out, allowing the filmmaker to see that she was a great mother.  So, I was interested in exploring that in a woman, and I thought Hilaree brought an honesty that I hadn't seen before. 

How did Dill sign up after collaborating with the directors on Free Solo?  We begged Shannon to come back,  Vasarhelyi told THR.  She is a very sought-after producer in documentaries, and we really wanted her  back on Everest.

How did the movie compare to Dill's past work?  The scale of this project is like none other that I've worked on and none other that I've seen in documentary form,  she shared with THR.  And I had the same experience with Hilaree. She
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