I said to him: Well, Shackleton would have taken that chance, he tells Deadline.
The feature documentary comes from the Oscar-winning team of Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and Bafta-nominated Natalie Hewit.
The film will air on Nat Geo and then stream on Disney+ and Hulu later this fall.
Ernest Shackleton aboard the EnduranceBFI/Frank Hurley
It will premiere at the London Film Festival.
What followed was an historic tale of survival in the face of adversity.
More than a century later the Endurance22 expedition set out on the icebreaker Agulhas II.
It had been resting at the bottom of the Weddell Sea for 107 years.
When the wreck was found, we saw it as a great opportunity to retell the Shackleton story.
And now we have the creative tools that can really help bring a story like this to life.
Luckily for future generations, Australian crew member Frank Hurley recorded events on film.
The surviving footage was used in the filmSouth.
Their personalities really come out through their diaries, Vasarhelyi says.
I didnt know what the net effect was going to be, how it would actually feel.
And then it was like: Oh my God, its them.
I just had total chills, she says about hearing as well as seeing Shackleton and crew.
Chills is an appropriate word given the polar exploration themes.
They just had so many different problems.
We showed them a grainy photo and then they said: How do you know its the Endurance?
The next day, we were able to do that, thanks to that incredible team.
It was a wonderful moment to be able to showNational Geographicand say: Is this what youre looking for?
Fitting a film crew around a high-tech and high-pressure expedition, however, came with its own challenges.
We were very fortunate that we had Natalie Hewit as the director on board.
She had already been to Antarctica and spent three months with the British Antarctic Survey.
Having that sort of experience really helped her slot in and be part of the team.
That experience came in handy given the prevailing conditions.
The team also have personal connections to the Shackleton story.
The expedition leader recalls walking on the ice, 10,000 feet above where the wreck was located.
Youre actually walking in the same footsteps as Shackleton.
All you’re free to hear is your own breath, the wind and the ice.
Those would be the times that Id think of Shackleton and how on earth he kept those men alive.
It was an incredible feat of leadership.
Its been a journey with Jimmy and Chai, going into the studio with them.
Its been a fantastic journey, Im so proud of what theyve done with the movie.
Jimmy and I still really believe in the idea that cinema is about connection.
InFree Solo, you remember who you sat next to and who you grabbed, or who cried.
