Deadline’s Doc Talk Podcast: Oscar Winners Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin On ‘Photographer’ Docuseries And ‘Nyad’, And Carla Gutiérrez On Her Portrait Of Frida Kahlo

It’s been a remarkable past year for Free Solo directors Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin. At Telluride, they premiered their first narrative feature Nyad, a dramatization of the relentless pursuit of extreme athlete Diana Nyad to swim from Cuba to Florida without the safety of a shark cage. The Netflix release has gone on to earn Oscar nominations for its stars Annette Bening and Jodie Foster.

But the filmmaking couple hasn’t left the world of nonfiction cinema behind. They return to documentary storytelling this month with Photographer, a National Geographic series about the elite artists who take some of the world’s most remarkable images of wildlife and the human family. Vasarhelyi and Chin join the latest episode of Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast to discuss their six-part series, which profiles NatGeo photographers Paul Nicklen, Cristina Mittermeier, Muhammed Muheisen, Krystle Wright and others.

More from Deadline

• Deadline’s Doc Talk Podcast Puts Pedal To The Metal With ‘Speed Sisters’ Director Amber Fares, Filmmaker Telling Unexpected Stories From Palestine & Israel

• Annette Bening On Taking Acting Risks And Diving Into The Deep End As ‘Nyad’ Brings Her Oscar Buzz Yet Again – The Actor’s Side

• Oscar Voting Panic; Plus, 'Poor Things' Tries To Defy Expectations; Annette Bening, 'American Fiction' & More Tales From The Trail - Notes On The Season

Vasarhelyi and Chin also share insights from making Nyad, and how their experience on docs translated to the arena of fiction filmmaking.

RELATED: Jimmy Chin And Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi On Being Married To Filmmaking And Each Other, Plus The Challenges Faced On Their Narrative Debut ‘Nyad’ – Behind The Lens

We also welcome filmmaker Carla Gutiérrez, director of the documentary Frida, premiering March 14 on Prime Video. It’s an in-depth portrait of the legendary Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, whose fame has grown exponentially since her untimely death in 1954 at the age of 47.

Gutiérrez explains how she gained access to Kahlo’s letters and illustrated diary to make her film and her process of immersing viewers in the iconographic terrain of Kahlo’s art. She also reflects on Kahlo’s relationship with husband Diego Rivera, the great muralist, and Frida’s romantic relationships with women including the exceptional singer Chavela Vargas.

Doc Talk is hosted by Oscar winner John Ridley (12 Years a Slave) and Deadline’s Documentary Editor Matt Carey. The show is a production of Deadline and Ridley’s Nō Studios.

Best of Deadline

• 2024 Awards Season Calendar - Dates For Oscars, Guilds, Tonys & More

• Photo Gallery: 50 Classic Boxing Movies From ‘Raging Bull’ And ‘Million Dollar Baby’ To ‘The Champ’ And ‘Rocky’

• New On Prime Video For March 2022: Daily Listings For Streaming TV, Movies & More

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.