Tenzing

Tenzing brought together an international creative team alongside some of New Zealand's leading screen practitioners. The production was produced by New Zealand producer Desray Armstrong (Te Aitanga-ā-Hauiti, Ngāti Porou, Pākehā), whose recent credits include The Mountain, Millie Lies Low and Coming Home in the Dark.

New Zealand-based designer Kirsty Cameron led the film's costume design, with credits that include Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog and Pike River. Hair and makeup designer Stef Knight, who returned home to New Zealand after an international career in fashion and film, helped create the distinctive look of characters enduring the harsh realities of Everest.

The production also drew on specialist New Zealand expertise in the mountains. Alpine production supervisor Guy Cotter, aerial coordinator Jane McCurdy and an experienced team of mountain pilots and safety specialists helped deliver some of the film's most demanding sequences across Aoraki Mount Cook, The Remarkables and Mount Head. Together, the crew helped create an authentic high-altitude adventure while ensuring the safety of cast and crew working in challenging alpine conditions.

New Zealand's South Island provided the scale and cinematic backdrop needed to recreate one of the world's greatest mountaineering stories. Filming took place across alpine environments including Aoraki Mount Cook, The Remarkables and Mount Head, demonstrating the diversity and versatility of New Zealand's locations.

Tenzing demonstrates New Zealand's ability to support ambitious international productions across complex environments. Alongside filming in Nepal, the production completed significant New Zealand photography and worked with local crews, facilities and screen industry expertise to help realise the story.

While Tenzing centres on the life of Tenzing Norgay, it also tells the story of the historic partnership between Norgay and New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary. That connection makes the film a natural fit for New Zealand production, bringing together an internationally significant story and a defining chapter in New Zealand history.