Tenzing trailer: Apple TV on Wednesday dropped the trailer of Jennifer Peedom’s period adventure film Tenzing, which charts the historic ascent to the summit of the Mount Everest by legendary Nepalese-Indian climber Tenzing Norgay and New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary back in 1953 as part of the British Mount Everest expedition.

What’s in the Tenzing trailer?

The trailer starts with Tenzing (Genden Phuntsok) confessing that when he was a child, he used to claim that Mount Everest belongs to him. Since that thought stayed with him, he kept attempting to climb the mountain over the years, as he became a sherpa. Given his experience, even Hillary (Tom Hiddleston) admitted that Tenzing knows the mountain better than anyone else on the planet. “You paved the way, for all of us,” he says, as Tenzing smiles.

Even though Tenzing is championed by expedition leader and British Army officer John Hunt (Willem Dafoe), who introduces him as their “head sherpa“, he’s not entirely onboard with the idea of Tenzing joining their climbing team instead of only showing them the way. “If I come, I’m on the climbing team,” asserts Tenzing, much to the surprise of Hunt.

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Hunt’s wife Jill Henderson (Catriona Balfe) is the one who convinces him to relent to Tenzing’s stipulation. “Tenzing’s the man who’s climbed higher than any human’s climbed before,” she argues, adding that Tenzing is even “hungrier” than Hunt, a “necessary quality up there.” That finally convinces Hunt to include Tenzing as part of his climbing team, which primarily consists of white men.

Thus, Tenzing had to navigate his way uphill not only physically, but also socially against British superiority, and even emotionally, while battling his loved ones’ memories. But he admits that despite failing to reach the summit time and again, he can’t help but bid his loved one goodbye and start the ascent all over again, indicating that the mountains hold a higher calling for him.

More about Tenzing

Tenzing is helmed by Jennifer Peedom, an Australian filmmaker who previously directed Sherpa, a 2015 documentary which depicts the events of the 2014 Mount Everest ice avalanche. Thus, she’s no stranger to the tricky terrains. Interestingly, her documentary also featured the archival footage of Tenzing and Hillary, and interviews of Tenzing’s children.

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Following its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this past Tuesday, Tenzing is now slated to release on Apple TV on October 16.