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In 'Tenzing,' the Everest-Scaling Sherpa Tenzing Norgay Fina
Jennifer Peedom’s film centers Tenzing Norgay and the Sherpa viewpoint, with Genden Phuntsok in the lead role and Tom Hiddleston as Edmund Hillary.
Apple Studios' biographical drama 'Tenzing' premieres Friday, October 9 in theaters before streaming October 16 on Apple TV+, with director Jennifer Peedom centering the film on mountaineer Tenzing Norgay.
The film reorients the historic 1953 Everest ascent as a spiritual quest rather than a conquest, with Genden Phuntsok portraying Norgay and Tom Hiddleston playing New Zealand climber Edmund Hillary.
Phuntsok and Hiddleston anchor the drama as an 'endearing pair,' though production notes state 'creative license needed to be taken' to shape the complex history into a compelling narrative.
As Peedom screens the film at fall festivals, she reminds audiences of environmental threats facing Nepal, including the deadly August flood that killed at least 1,400 people in a Himalayan river valley.
Everest faces unprecedented congestion, with a record 274 climbers reaching the summit in a single day this May, prompting renowned guide Kami Rita Sherpa to urge authorities to 'limit the endless stream' of climbers.