Everest Drama 'Tenzing,' Starring Tom Hiddleston and Willem Dafoe, to Open Zurich Film Festival
The period adventure drama Tenzing, about the first ascent of Mount Everest, will open the 22nd Zurich International Film Festival on 24 September, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Apple TV film tells the true story of Nepalese-Indian Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who, alongside New Zealand alpinist Edmund Hillary, became the first person to reach the summit of Everest in 1953. Tom Hiddleston plays Hillary. Willem Dafoe plays Colonel John Hunt, the leader of the British expedition team. Genden Phuntsok takes the title role of Tenzing Norgay himself.
The cast rounds out with Thinley Lhamo as Norgay's wife, Dawa, and Caitríona Balfe as expedition secretary Jill Henderson. Jennifer Peedom directs.
Tenzing will have its world premiere earlier in the festival calendar, debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival on 15 September. The Zurich slot on 24 September marks its European premiere. Hiddleston, Dafoe and Peedom are all expected to attend the Zurich opening night gala.
For a film centred on one of mountaineering's defining moments, the choice of director carries its own layer of significance. Peedom is a documentary film-maker with a deep body of work on Himalayan culture and the Sherpa community, including her acclaimed 2015 documentary Sherpa. Her move into narrative feature territory brings that background to a story often told from the perspective of the Western climbers.
The casting of the lead role itself was a journey. Deadline reported in May 2024 that the production was searching for an actor to play Tenzing Norgay opposite Hiddleston's Hillary. That search ultimately landed on Genden Phuntsok for the central role.
Zurich Festival CEO Christian Jungen said this year's festival motto is "dream big" — a fitting frame for a film about two men who climbed higher than anyone had before.
After its festival run, Tenzing heads to audiences at large. The film will premiere in select theatres on 9 October before streaming on Apple TV beginning 16 October, per The Hollywood Reporter. That pattern — a limited theatrical run followed by a streaming debut — is the standard release window Apple TV uses to qualify its films for awards consideration while still reaching its subscriber base.
The 22nd Zurich International Film Festival runs from 24 September through 5 October.
