For over twenty years, filmmaker Lucy Walker has been making some of the most compelling documentaries, including a number that explore some of the most daring and adventurous risk-takers. Her latest film, Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, which debuts on Netflix on Wednesday, July 31, continues that trend. It explores the life and achievements of one Lhakpa Sherpa, who became the first Nepali woman to scale and summit Mount Everest, later setting a record for the most summits of Everest by any woman.
But there’s more to Lhakpa’s journey. After marrying an abusive Romanian climber and settling down in Connecticut, she had two daughters, Sunny and Shiny, and she continues to work at a Whole Foods to this day, despite her remarkable achievements and the enormous trauma from which she has suffered.
To coincide with the release of Mountain Queen, Netflix is also giving Walker a special retrospective at New York’s Paris Theater, screening her earlier films, Blindsight, Wasteland, Devil’s Playground, The Crash Reel, and more, which Cinema Daily US also discussed with the filmmaker in our extended interview that you can watch above.
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Director: Lucy Walker
Cast: Lhakpa Sherpa, Shiny Dijmarescu, Sunny Dijmarescu, Nima Sherpa
Producer: Charlie Corwin, Michael D. Ratner, Miranda Sherman, Dalia Burde, Christopher Newman
Production Co: SK Global, OBB Pictures, Avocados & Coconuts, Makemake
Distributor: Netflix
Genre: Documentary
Language: English, Nepali
Release Date (streaming): July 31, 2024
Runtime: 105 minutes
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You can watch the trailer below: