This film pays tribute to the work, life and state of mind of the Sherpas. Through their eyes, we follow the expedition of Swiss mountain guide Kari Kobler and his European team towards the conquest of Everest. The film tells the story of the Sherpas, their feelings and their fears. In candid interviews, they explain what it means for them to work for Westerners. We savour their successes, but we also taste tragedy when one member of the expedition dies. The film shows the Sherpas risking their lives to save the others and how they are affected by tragedy, which they see as a message from the mountain. The heroes of his film are Long Dorjee, a legendary Sherpa who has climbed Everest 13 times, and Norbu, a young Sirdar who leads a modern life in Kathmandu.
Directors
FRANK SENN
Frank Senn worked for twenty years as a journalist and producer for Swiss television on a number of programmes including Time Out, 10vor10, SF Spezial and MTW. He has worked on documentaries, particularly mountaineering and adventure documentaries, for more than ten years. His films have won a host of awards at international film festivals. He is currently working on documentaries for Swiss television. His films include Eiger - auf den Spuren der Erstbesteiger (2002) and Muztagh Ata - Forschung in eisigen Hoehe (2006).
Hari Tapa
Hari Tapa was born in 1972; he works as a freelance journalist and documentary-maker in Kathmandu, Nepal. He has worked with a range of newspapers and magazines, and has also been a reporter and producer for Nepal Television (NTV). Tapa has produced and directed about twenty documentaries on nature, the environment, women and children, as well as a film about a Sirdar Sherpa who worked on the Khumbu glacier for thirty-three years. He founded and manages his own production company Contemporary Vision.
OTTO C. HONEGGER
Otto Honegger was the head of the documentary department for Swiss national television. He is the executive producer of the film Sherpas - die wahren Helden am Everest. During his long career as a director, he has won considerable recognition, particularly for his films on scubadiving, adventure and politics. He is also the author of the book Sherpas am Everest. Die Geschichte der wahren Helden.
Gallery
