EVEREST DARK
Directed by Jeremy Watt
and co-created/written/produced by Michael Bodnarchuk
Special Select Screenings Across Canada Begin February 13
Victoria – Friday February 13 – 5:00pm – The Vic
Tickets
Winnipeg – Sunday February 15 – Gas Station Arts Centre
Tickets
Toronto – Sunday February 22 – 6:30pm – Hot Docs Cinema
Tickets
Awards and Nominations
Winner, NZMFF Award – Best Film on Mountain Culture, New Zealand Mountain Film & Book Festival (2025) 
Winner, Jury Prize – Best Canadian Feature, Planet in Focus Film Festival (2025) 
Winner, Best Director – Feature Documentary, Montreal International Film Festival (2025) 
Nominee, Best Canadian Documentary, Calgary International Film Festival (2025) 
Nominee, Feature Film Producer Award, CMPA IndieScreen Awards (2025)
PRESS RELEASE
Mount Everest is angry. At least that’s what legendary Nepalese mountaineer Mingma Tsiri Sherpa believes as he embarks on one final, deadly mission into the Death Zone.
EVEREST DARK, the powerful new feature documentary directed by award-winning filmmaker Jereme Watt, and co-created/written/produced by Michael Bodnarchuk, opens in select theatres across Canada.
The film follows Mingma, a national hero in Nepal, as he risks his life to recover the body of a fallen climber from Mount Everest. Revered by the Sherpa as Chomolungma – a sacred home to the Mountain Gods – the mountain has become increasingly commercialized, littered with garbage and the frozen remains of climbers. Mingma’s journey is both a physical ascent into the Death Zone and a spiritual reckoning with what has been lost, and who is paying the price.
As Everest faces unprecedented overcrowding and environmental crisis, with climbers paying upwards of $100,000 for summit attempts while Sherpas shoulder the greatest risk for a fraction of the reward, EVEREST DARK offers a timely reckoning. Rather than framing Everest through the familiar lens of Western conquest, the film places Sherpa voices at the centre of the story, exposing the profound imbalance in the global climbing industry. The film pulls no punches as it examines the spiritual and human consequences of turning a sacred mountain into a bucket-list destination.
Shot on location on Mount Everest, director Watt and his crew joined Mingma and his team on the expedition into the Death Zone to document the mission in real time. Watt, whose career spans over 150 episodes of documentary television for Discovery and History, spent nearly a decade building trust with Mingma and his family. The result is an intimate portrait shaped by access few filmmakers ever receive, grounded in respect, patience, and lived experience.
EVEREST DARK is produced and executive produced by Merit Jensen Carr (Merit Motion Pictures), Jereme Watt (Killawatt Productions Inc.), and Michael Bodnarchuk (Michael Bodnarchuk Productions). Joining them as executive producer is Ina Fichman, producer of the Oscar-nominated Fire of Love. The film is produced in association with Intuitive Pictures, Documentary Channel, and Northern Banner Releasing who also distribute the film in Canada.
To support the Canadian theatrical release, Mingma Tsiri Sherpa will be travelling to select Canadian cities for in-person appearances and media interviews, a rare opportunity for journalists to gain first-hand insight into the realities of high-altitude climbing, Sherpa culture, and the spiritual consequences of Everest’s commercialization.