Everest Drama ‘Tenzing’ With Tom Hiddleston, Willem Dafoe to Open Zurich Festival

Tenzing, a period adventure drama starring Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe, about the first ascent of Mount Everest, will open this year’s Zurich International Film Festival (ZFF).

Directed by Jennifer Peedom (Sherpa, River) for Apple TV, Tenzing follows the true story of Nepalese-Indian Sherpa Tenzing Norgay (played by Genden Phuntsok), a gifted mountaineer who, together with New Zealand alpinist Edmund Hillary (Hiddleston), became the first person to reach the summit of Mount Everest in 1953. Dafoe plays Colonel John Hunt, the leader of the British expedition team. Thinley Lhamo plays Tenzing’s wife Dawa. Caitríona Balfe co-stars as expedition secretary Jill Henderson.

Tenzing will open the 22nd Zurich Film Festival on Sept. 24 in its European premiere. The film debuts at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 15. Hiddleston, Dafoe and Peedom will attend the Zurich opening night gala.

“This year’s ZFF motto is ‘dream big.’ Our breathtaking opening film Tenzing fits perfectly, because it shows how you can grow beyond yourself when you have a big dream,” said Zurich Festival CEO Christian Jungen. “The film offers powerful emotion and mountain scenery of sublime beauty. But it also carries an important message for our time: The first ascent of Mount Everest only succeeded because the climbers respected the local Sherpa people and the laws of nature.”

“At its heart, Tenzing is about a man who dared to imagine a life beyond the limits the world had placed on him and the courage, sacrifice and belief it took to reach the highest point on earth,” added Peedom.

Tenzing will premiere in select theaters on Oct. 9 before bowing on Apple TV Oct. 16.