Cinema VinesLos Angeles – Filmmaker Jennifer Peedom’s epic drama “Tenzing” will open the 22nd Zurich Film Festival on September 24, with star power from Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe. The Apple Original Films production, which dramatizes the first successful ascent of Mount Everest, is set to hit the big screen in select theatres on October 9 and will stream on Apple TV on October 16.
Hiddleston, Dafoe and Peedom are expected to walk the green carpet in Zurich for the film’s European premiere. The festival’s chief executive, Christian Jungen, said the event’s motto this year is “dream big,” and that “Tenzing” embodies that spirit by showing how a big dream can push someone beyond their limits.
Jungen praised the film for combining “powerful emotion and mountain scenery of sublime beauty” while also spotlighting the importance of respecting the local Sherpa community and nature. Peedom described the story as following a man who imagined a life beyond the limits imposed on him and the courage and sacrifice required to reach the highest point on earth.
The narrative centers on Himalayan climber Tenzing Norgay, portrayed by Genden Phuntsok, and his partnership with New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary, played by Hiddleston. Together they became the first climbers to summit Mount Everest. The film follows Tenzing’s quest for recognition not just as a Sherpa assisting Western climbers but as a mountaineer in his own right.
Encouraged by his wife Dawa, played by Thinley Lhamo, Tenzing finds an ally in expedition secretary Jill Henderson, portrayed by Caitríona Balfe. Together they persuade expedition leader Colonel John Hunt, played by Dafoe, that Tenzing belongs on the British climbing team. Against the backdrop of the mountain’s extreme conditions, the story examines tensions of culture, class and ambition before Tenzing and Hillary develop a bond based on mutual respect and trust.
