Doc On Find Of Shackelton’s Ship Endurance Lands Oscar-Winning Directors – Deadline

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin and BAFTA-nominated director Natalie Hewit are boarding the National Geographic documentary Endurance (working title), the incredible story of “the epic search to find the lost ship of Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton.”

The announcement comes almost exactly a year after Shackelton’s ship Endurance was discovered eerily intact on the Weddell Sea floor near the northernmost part of the Antarctic, more than a hundred years after the vessel sank. The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust organized and funded the mission to find the historic wreck. 

Shackelton and his crew of 27 set sail in late 1914 on an exploratory mission endorsed Winston Churchill, then Britain’s First Lord of the Admiralty. The ship became trapped in sea ice, forcing the crew to quit the vessel and set up camp on an ice floe. Then, on November 27, 1915, Endurance sank. As one crewman wrote, “She went down bow first, her stern raised in the air. She then gave one quick dive and the ice closed over her forever.”

That disastrous development set off one of history’s most extraordinary stories of adventure and survival as the crew battled the elements to stay alive. Every one of them were rescued eventually after an ordeal of four months. In the meantime, Endurance herself came to rest 10,000 feet below the ice, only to be located last March.

Production is underway on the documentary, National Geographic said in a statement.

“We are delighted to share this inspiring story of exploration, grit and perseverance with the world,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president of Documentary Films for National Geographic. “Chai and Jimmy are bold, ambitious and nuanced storytellers, perfectly cast to bring this gripping story to life, along with their exceptionally talented co-director Nat Hewit, who has a unique first-hand perspective as part of the Endurance22 expedition. We feel privileged to share this astounding discovery with audiences around the world and to dramatize the extraordinary tale of survival that started it all.”

Vasarhelyi and Chin’s credits include the National Geographic feature documentaries The Rescue, about the mission to save kids in Thailand who became trapped in a flooded cave, and the Academy Award-winning Free Solo, about climber Alex Honnold’s daring ascent of El Capitan in Yosemite with any ropes. 

“We have dedicated our careers to telling stories about the edge of human experience, exploration and possibility,” Vasarhelyi and Chin said. “Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance is the definitive true story of adventure and survival against all odds. With the discovery of his long-lost ship — which sank over 100 years ago in the unforgiving Weddell Sea — by a group of fearless scientists, we are able to revisit Shackleton’s story of hardship, bravery and leadership with a fresh lens. We are thrilled to be able to work with Nat Hewit and the team and look forward to using cutting-edge technology to bring this story of friendship, grit, inspiration and discovery to contemporary audiences of all ages.”

The expedition to find Endurance was led by polar geographer Dr. John Shears with marine archaeologist Mensun Bound as director of exploration and Nicolas (Nico) Vincent as expedition subsea manager. Joining them on board the South African icebreaker Agulhas II was a crew of scientists, archaeologists, and a team of highly experienced extreme environment filmmakers, led by director Natalie Hewit and Dan Snow, who documented the events leading up to the historic discovery in real time for History Hit. “To help locate the shipwreck, the team used submersibles called Saab Sabretooths equipped with 4k cameras and lighting arrays,” a release stated. “The ship continues to remain untouched and without any artifacts removed, but the results of the discovery will provide significant insights into Ernest Shackleton’s imperial trans-Antarctic expedition and offer an incredible opportunity to bring the stories of Shackleton and the 27 men on his crew to new generations.”

Hewit said in a statement, “It was the adventure of a lifetime to be part of the Endurance22 expedition, and I’m excited to be collaborating with Chai, Jimmy, Ruth and the rest of the team to bring this incredible story to audiences everywhere.” She added, “What happened to Shackleton and his crew on the Weddell Sea — and how they responded and persevered — is the stuff of legend. Having been part of this amazing discovery, I am so honored to have the opportunity to tell the inspiring story of Shackleton and his crew, capturing important history while showcasing the very cutting edge in deep sea exploration and filmmaking technology that helped us to make history in March 2022.”

Consequential’s Academy Award and multiple Emmy winner Ruth Johnston (Summer of Soul …Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised), Hunger Ward, Master of Light) is producing. Vasarhelyi and Chin will produce under their company Little Monster Films. Academy Award nominee and five-time Emmy winner Bob Eisenhardt will serve as editor and producer. Executive producers include Dan Jones and Paul Woolf with Little Dot Studios, Consequential’s Ted Richane, History Hit’s Dan Snow and Bill Locke, Anna Barnes of Little Monster Films, and Carolyn Bernstein with National Geographic Documentary Films. 

Exclusive partners on Endurance (wt) include Little Dot Studios (an All3Media company); impact-driven production company Consequential; and History Hit, the SVOD and content platform co-founded by historian Dan Snow. The documentary will be available exclusively on National Geographic Channels and Disney+. A release date has not been set.

Earlier today in Copenhagen, where Vasarhelyi and Chin have screened their latest National Geographic documentary, Wild Life, the couple spoke about the Endurance project.

“We’re making now this film about Shackleton, because they just recently found the Endurance,” Vasarhelyi told an audience during a discussion of their career moderated by Thom Powers. The filmmakers should be able to draw upon footage from the original voyage – remarkably, it too survived. 

“[Shackelton] pre-sold the rights to his footage of his expedition in order to finance the expedition,” she said. “And that’s why he brought a full film crew. That’s why this [archival] film footage exists.”