Jimmy Chin

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Academy Award-Winning Filmmaker & Photographer

    Directors
    Documentarians
    TED Speakers
    Writers / Creators
    Adventure & Exploration
    Team Building
    Storytelling
    Asian

    Jimmy Chin: Biography at a Glance

    • Jimmy Chin is an Academy Award-winning photographer, filmmaker, and mountain sports athlete known for his ability to capture extraordinary imagery while climbing and skiing in extremely high-risk environments.
    • Along with his wife, E. Chai Vasarhelyi, Chin executive produced Edge of the Unknown, an epic 10-part series that takes audiences inside the minds of pioneering adventure athletes as they recount the most consequential moments of their lives.
    • He won an Oscar for Free Solo, in which he captured Alex Honnold's attempt to become the first person to ever free solo climb El Capitan.
    • In his documentary film The Rescue, Chin chronicles the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.
    • He is the director of the highly anticipated film Nyad, which tells the story of 64-year-old marathon swimmer, Diana Nyad becoming the first person ever to swim from Cuba to Florida.
    • Chin shares with audiences his authentic and unique perspective on storytelling based on his years of experience in the adventure and extreme sports world. 

    Videos

    Biography

    Jimmy Chin is a photographer, filmmaker, and mountain sports athlete known for his ability to capture extraordinary imagery while climbing and skiing in extremely high-risk environments. He began his professional career in 1999, and his talents were quickly recognized by top expedition leaders and outdoor brands. In 2002, he secured a breakthrough assignment to be the cinematographer for a high-profile National Geographic–sponsored trek across Tibet’s Chang Tang Plateau. In 2006, he was part of the first American team to ski off the summit of Mount Everest. A longtime member of The North Face Athlete Team, he has joined dozens of exploratory expeditions and completed first ascents around the globe, working with the best adventure athletes in the world.

    Jimmy has garnered numerous photography awards from Photo District News (PDN), Communication Arts, the American Society of Magazine Editors, and others. As a filmmaker, his years of experience in the adventure and extreme sports world enable him to bring an authentic and unique perspective to his storytelling. His film Meru won the coveted Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and was on the Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary. Jimmy’s photos have appeared on the cover of National Geographic and The New York Times Magazine, among others, and he has directed commercial film projects for a diverse range of clients that includes Apple, Chase, Pirelli, Red Bull, The North Face, and RSA Films.

    Jimmy splits his time between New York City and Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with his wife, filmmaker Chai Vasarhelyi, their daughter, Marina, and son, James.

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