Tenzing trailer: “Left in the shadows” for decades, one of Everest’s heroes finally takes centre stage

I love Everest movies – starting with 1924’s The Epic of Everest, about the ill-fated expedition where Mallory and Irving disappeared on the mountain – and I cannot wait to watch this.

After 1924’s disaster it took another 29 years –  until 1953 in fact – for the world’s tallest mountain to be successfully climbed, by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay; over 70 decades on from that, Tenzing’s story finally gets to take centre stage, in new film Tenzing.

Directed and co-written by BAFTA-nominated filmmaker Jennifer Peedom, the film explores “the extraordinary true story of Tenzing Norgay, the indigenous climber history left in the shadows of one of humanity’s greatest achievements: reaching the summit of the world’s tallest mountain, Mount Everest.”

Scroll down for the synopsis, more pics and to check out the excellent trailer, which left me feeling very inspired as I sit here on the sofa in my slippers.

Tenzing releases in select UK cinemas on 9 October and will be available to stream on Apple TV in the UK from 16 October.

Here’s the synopsis:

The little-known story true of Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), a gifted Himalayan climber who, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston), was the first to summit Mount Everest. Encouraged by his wife Dawa (Thinley Lhamo), Tenzing finds an ally in expedition secretary Jill Henderson (Caitríona Balfe). Together, they persuade Colonel John Hunt (Willem Dafoe) that Tenzing belongs on the British climbing team, rather than merely serving it. Where Western climbers see Everest as something to be conquered, Tenzing reveres Chomolungma as the sacred mother goddess. What follows is an ascent defined as much by the tensions between backgrounds, classes and competing ambitions as by the perils of the mountain itself. But high above the world, empire, rank and aspiration fall away, leaving two outsiders bound by mutual respect and trust — and for Tenzing, the fulfillment of both a life-long dream and a spiritual calling. 

Watch the trailer for Tenzing now:

Tenzing is directed by BAFTA-nominated documentary filmmaker Jennifer Peedom and stars Genden Phuntsok as Tenzing Norgay, Tom Hiddleston as Sir Edmund Hillary, Willem Dafoe as Colonel John Hunt, Tenzin Jigmey as Pasang, Caitriona Balfe as Jill Henderson, Thinley Lhamo as Dawa and Tenzin Dalha as the Young Tenzing.