The third attempt to climb Everest culminated in the deaths of two of the finest climbers of their generation, George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, and sparked an on-going debate over whether or not they did indeed reach the summit. Filming in brutally harsh conditions with a hand-cranked camera, Captain John Noel captured images of breathtaking beauty and considerable historic significance. The film is also among the earliest filmed records of life in Tibet and features sequences at Phari Dzong (Pagri), Shekar Dzong (Xegar) and Rongbuk monastery. But what resonates so deeply is Noel’s ability to frame the vulnerability, isolation and courage of people persevering in one of the world’s harshest landscapes. The restoration by the BFI National Archive has transformed the quality of the surviving elements of the film and reintroduced the original coloured tints and tones. Revealed by the restoration, few images in cinema are as epic – or moving – as the final shots of a blood red sunset over the Himalayas.
A newly commissioned score composed, orchestrated and conducted by Simon Fisher Turner (The Great White Silence) features a haunting combination of electronic music, found sounds, western and Nepalese instruments and vocals.
New restoration by the BFI National Archive. The restoration was supported by The Eric Anker-Petersen Charity. – BFI (J.B.L. Noel, 1924, UK, 1:27, NR)
TALKBACK: Join us after the film for a Talkback with Drolma Gadou, Tenzin Yangkey, and Michael Brown.
Michael Brown of Serac Films, a renowned adventure athlete and filmmaker. Michael has reached the summit of Mount Everest five times, capturing every ascent on film, including the historic climb of the first blind person to conquer Everest in “Farther Than the Eye Can See.”
Drolma Gadou (དཀའ་ཐུབ་སྒྲོལ་མ།) is currently a PhD student in Geography at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research interests cover pastoralism, commodity chains, transnational trade, development, infrastructure, and capitalism on the Tibetan Plateau and China. Drolma began her academic journey with a BA in International Comparative Studies and a certificate in Global Health from Duke University. She completed her MA studies in the Geography Department in 2024. Prior to her graduate studies, she gained valuable experience at a social enterprise in Shanghai and later served as the project manager and the Deputy Chief of the Party for an international development project in China for a decade.
Tenzin Yangkey is a Ph.D. student in Geography at the University of Colorado, Boulder. Her research interest lies in the interaction of climate change, tourism, and land use change in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh. Her master’s research focused on climate change impacts on Tibetan refugee pastoralists based in Ladakh, India. Building on her diverse educational background of an MA in Geography at the University of Arizona and a B.Sc. in Environmental Engineering from Duke University, she is deeply interested in transdisciplinary research methods and knowledge co-production with local communities. She is passionate about creating an inclusive community with fellow researchers, students, and enthusiasts to amplify Tibetan and Himalayan voices in global environmental justice and climate spaces.
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