Film
Adventure Film Club: The Wall of Shadows (12A)
Dir. Eliza Kubarska, Poland/Germany, 2020, 94 mins, subtitled.
Director Eliza Kubarska follows a Sherpa family who must decide if they will break a cultural taboo to climb Khumbakarna, the most sacred of their mountains. According to the local Kirant religion it is forbidden to climb Khumbakarna, but to the international climbing community the mountain is deemed to have a summit more challenging than Everest’s. When asked by a Western expedition, including Marcin Tomaszewski, one of Poland’s most well-known climbers, and the Russian alpinists Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov, to lead their party, the family faces a dilemma driven by the need to earn money for the education of their son, who wishes to become a doctor. The film follows the expedition, as the family negotiate the dangerous climb, uncertain conditions, and their devotion to their religion.
Director Eliza Kubarska follows a Sherpa family who must decide if they will break a cultural taboo to climb Khumbakarna, the most sacred of their mountains. According to the local Kirant religion it is forbidden to climb Khumbakarna, but to the international climbing community the mountain is deemed to have a summit more challenging than Everest’s. When asked by a Western expedition, including Marcin Tomaszewski, one of Poland’s most well-known climbers, and the Russian alpinists Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov, to lead their party, the family faces a dilemma driven by the need to earn money for the education of their son, who wishes to become a doctor. The film follows the expedition, as the family negotiate the dangerous climb, uncertain conditions, and their devotion to their religion.