VIDEO: National Geographic Debuts THE RESCUE Documentary Trailer

On the heels of the world premiere at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival, National Geographic Documentary Films and Greenwich Entertainment announced TODAY that they will release The Rescue, the latest film from Oscar®, BAFTA and multiple Emmy® Award-winning directing duo E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin exclusively in theaters in October. Vasarhelyi and Chin also produced the film, along with P.J. van Sandwijk ("American Dharma"), John Battsek ("One Day in September," "Searching for Sugar Man"), and Free Solo editor Bob Eisenhardt.

The Rescue, which critics called "heartstopping", "rousing" and "truly astonishing" following its Telluride premiere, brings alive one of the most perilous and extraordinary rescues in modern times, shining a light on the high-risk world of cave diving, the astounding courage and compassion of the rescuers, and the shared humanity of the international community that united to save the boys.

The film chronicles the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of 12 boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand. Academy Award®-winning directors and producers E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin keep viewers on the edge of their seats as they use a wealth of never-before-seen material and exclusive interviews to piece together the high-stakes mission, highlight the efforts of the Royal Thai Navy SEALs and U.S. Special Forces, and detail the expert cave divers' audacious venture to save the boys.

The film features interviews with critical rescue and support teams, including British cave divers Richard Stanton and John Volanthen, named to National Geographic's 2019 list of Adventurers of the Year; Colonel Bhak Loharjun, the chief medical officer of the Royal Thai Army; Thanet Natisri, a groundwater expert based in Thailand at the time of the rescue; additional cave divers Chris Jewell, Jason Malison, Connor Roe, Josh Bratchley and Jim Warny; along with in-depth interviews with Australian divers Dr. Richard Harris and Craig Challen. The film brings to light the common humanity, incredible resilience and absolute morality that defines us as humans.

The Rescue grants viewers exclusive access into the tense meetings, conversations and timeline of events that led to the valiant rescue, seamlessly threading together the tough decisions that needed to be made as the minutes and days mounted and the boys' chance of survival was at greater stake. In the tradition of their earlier films, Free Solo and "Meru," Vasarhelyi and Chin document a profoundly daring physical feat, laying bare the details of the seemingly impossible rescue.

Watch the new trailer below:

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