Quotes from Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

Parenthood has made me more cautious.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Literature has guided me through my whole life.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

'Free Solo' has got nothing to do with politics, so to speak, but why are audiences responding to it in the degree that they did? I think it's because we give people an opportunity to see someone. Also, he's able to connect when you don't think he could connect. It's a respite.

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

I think that documentaries are bound by journalistic ethics, and I think they have the pressure of trying to entertain someone for 90 minutes. It's hard, but it's the same question no matter what you're doing. Every film I've done, I've approached it the same way with the same level of respect.

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.

Climbing is an understated culture.

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.