For director Jennifer Peedom, bringing the story of Tenzing Norgay to the screen meant more than re-creating one of mountaineering’s most celebrated achievements. It also meant putting the Himalayan climber at the center of his own story and taking audiences onto real mountains to experience the dangers of the ascent.
Tenzing, written by Luke Davies, chronicles Norgay’s (Genden Phuntsok) journey to the summit of Mount Everest alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston) in 1953, drawing on more than two decades of Peedom’s experience filming in the Himalayas to make her first narrative feature. Speaking recently at PMC Studios’ Lumen West screening theater, the filmmaker discussed the production’s demanding locations, her transition from documentary filmmaking and the responsibility of telling a story that accounts of Hillary’s achievement have often overshadowed.
“I wanted to tell the story of Tenzing Norgay, but I knew that it couldn’t be told as a documentary,” Peedom said. “None of the story that you see in the past of his childhood and the love story and the epic kind of obstacles that he had to overcome just to get to the starting line had been documented in any way.”
Peedom previously directed Sherpa, her 2015 documentary that followed an Everest expedition from the Sherpas’ perspective. During production, an avalanche killed 16 Sherpas in the icefall, turning the film into a chronicle of the disaster and the disproportionate risks Himalayan climbers take while helping foreign mountaineers pursue their ambitions.
That experience, along with years of relationships in the region, ultimately helped lead Norgay’s family to entrust Peedom with his story. Moving into narrative filmmaking allowed her to explore the climber’s life beyond the historical record, while collaborating with actors and craftspeople to bring his journey to the screen. “I found that the skills that I had learned, the powers of observation of human behavior, and when you know something’s truthful [and] when you’re working with actors, you have these collaborators that you can work with to enhance performance,” Peedom said.
One of Peedom’s most consequential decisions was to shoot the film’s climbing sequences on real mountains rather than rely on green screens. The production filmed its ice-and-snow scenes in New Zealand’s Southern Alps during winter, with locations accessible only by helicopter. The conditions required small crews and short shooting days.
Peedom worked with New Zealand mountain guide Guy Cotter, who had climbed Everest five times, to identify locations that could stand in for the Khumbu Icefall, Everest’s summit and Hillary Step. A second unit also filmed on Everest itself, capturing the deep backgrounds that visual effects artists later combined with the New Zealand footage. “I just kept pushing that idea until no one came up with a good enough answer to tell me why I couldn’t do it,” she said of her determination to film on real terrain.
Authenticity extended to the cast. Peedom also arranged for the lead actors to spend time in the Himalayas, where Phuntsok could immerse himself in Sherpa culture and dialect. At the same time, Hiddleston built a rapport and took walks with Hillary’s grandson, Alexander, to experience the landscape and better understand the historical partnership.
For Peedom, the film’s cultural and historical context was just as important as its physical scale. Norgay’s story explores the tensions of class, colonial power and competing ambitions, while presenting the climbers as equals whose achievement depended on mutual respect. “Tenzing was a Himalayan mountaineer. [He and Hillary] were equals,” Peedom said. “And this is a story about what happens when two people can meet each other as equals and achieve something together with respect.”
That perspective is reflected in the film’s title. Rather than framing Norgay primarily through his association with Hillary, Peedom wanted his name to stand on its own. “Tenzing is described as the Sherpa guide. They don’t even mostly use his name, which is why I wanted to call the movie Tenzing. For all of you to know the great [work] he has done.”
Watch the video above for more insights on the behind-the-scenes making of Tenzing for Deadline’s screening series.
Tenzing is now available to watch on Apple TV.
