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‘Free Solo,’ about Las Vegas climber Alex Honnold, wins Oscar

Updated February 24, 2019 - 5:48 pm

“Free Solo,” starring Las Vegas climber Alex Honnold, was named best documentary feature at Sunday’s 91st Academy Awards.

The documentary, directed by filmmaker Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and cinematographer and mountaineer Jimmy Chin, chronicles Honnold’s history-making climb as he scales the face of El Capitan, the 3,200-foot vertical rock in Yosemite National Park, without a rope.

“Thank you, Alex Honnold, for giving us courage and teaching us how to believe in the impossible and inspiring us,” Vasarhelyi said in her acceptance speech as the Las Vegan stood on stage nearby.

“Free Solo” defeated fellow nominees “Hale County This Morning, This Evening,” “Minding the Gap,” “Of Fathers and Sons” and “RBG” to take home the Oscar.

The documentary, which has earned $16.4 million at the box office, is scheduled to debut March 3 on National Geographic Channel.

Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.

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