DISCOVERY CHANNEL TO PREMIEREBAFTA-NOMINATED ‘SHERPA’ ON APRIL 18

THE PROGRAMME OFFERS TRIBUTE TO THE SHERPAS AND THEIR FAMILIES AFFECTED BY THE WORST TRAGEDY HITTING MOUNT EVEREST

 

New Delhi April 2016 Marking April 18 2014as the darkest day in the history of the       Mount Everest, Discovery Channel will broadcast the riveting film SHERPA. Chronicling the reappraisal of the Everest climbing industry in the face of the mountain’s deadliest avalanche, the two-hour programme captures the Sherpa community in their most vulnerable and significant moment.

 

Premiering on April 18 at 9 PM, SHERPAwill recount the harrowing story of the massive avalanche that tore through the Khumbu Icefall killing 16 Sherpas. The 14 million ton avalanche is recognized as the worst tragedy in the history of Everest and sparked a drastic reassessment of the role of Sherpas in the Everest climbing industry. The film captures the story of the Sherpa community, united in grief and anger as they reclaim the respected mountain they call Chomolungma.

 

The film was originally positioned to showcase the upcoming climbing season from the Sherpas' point of view after a highly-publicized confrontation in 2013 between Western climbers and a group of Sherpas. While capturing the shifting dynamics of Everest climbing culture and legendary Sherpa Phurba Tashi’s world record-breaking 22ndattempt to summit the mountain, the team witnessed and captured the single deadliest day in the mountain's history after an avalanche that struck just above Mt. Everest base camp.

 

Through the first-hand live recordings, voices of the guides themselves, their families, and the climbers who were preparing to summit when the disaster struck, SHERPA chronicles the historic moment of tragedy and resistancein which the Sherpas and their families consider the future of Everest climbing. SHERPA will be a global television event that will be broadcasted in more than 220 countries and territories.

 

In a culture that is dominated by the Everest climbing economy and heavily embedded with religion, tensions rise as Sherpas demand governmental changes to their dangerous line of employment. Ultimately, they must decide whether to continue their climb to provide for their families, or to cancel the season out of respect for themselves and those lost in the avalanche.

 

SHERPAis produced by Bridget Ikin, co-founder of Felix Media, a leading independent film and television company in Australia, and John Smithson, Joint Creative Director of Arrow Media, one of the UK's top independent creative forces and directed by Jennifer Peedom. For Discovery Channel, John Hoffman serves as Executive Vice President of Documentaries and Specials with Jon Bardin as Director of Development and Production of Documentaries and Specials.

 

On April 18 2016, get ready to deep dive into the lives of the Sherpas who make Everest's climbing culture possible only on Discovery Channel, Discovery HD World and Discovery Tamil at 9 PM.

 

About Discovery Channel

Discovery Channel, the flagship network of Discovery Communications, is devoted to creating the highest quality pay-TV programming in the world and remains one of the most dynamic networks on television. First launched in 1985, Discovery Channel reaches 210 million subscribers in Asia Pacific. It offers viewers an engaging line-up of high-quality non-fiction entertainment from blue-chip nature, science and technology, ancient and contemporary history, adventure, cultural and topical documentaries.

 

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching nearly 3 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. For 30 years Discovery has been dedicated to satisfying curiosityand entertaining viewers with high-quality content through its global television brands, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, Science and Turbo/Velocity, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery controls Eurosport, the leading pan-regional sports entertainment destination across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. In Asia Pacific, 15 Discovery brands reach 677 million cumulative subscribers in 38 countries and territories with programming customised in 14 languages and dialects.

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