Documentary film 'The Road Never Ends’ about Baltic Climbing Legend Teodors Ķirsis, which will be released on cinema screens in 2025, has reached the final stage of production. The film's creative team has published a new behind-the-scenes trailer for the upcoming movie, in which prominent figures of Latvian mountain culture look into the personality of Latvia's most popular mountaineer from a historical perspective.
The new trailer features one of the most experienced Latvian alpinists Valdis Puriņš, former Teodors Ķirsis group member Juris Ulmanis and Andris Balodis from the community virsotne.lv, who in 2023 became the 10th Latvian to reach the summit of Everest.
Teodors was the leading climber from the Baltics during the 1980s and 1990s and became one of the most famous men in independent Latvia. Without doubt he was the most well-known Latvian in the global mountaineering community – Teodors Kirsis and his legendary team reached the world's highest peaks after the restoration of the country's independence.
After the restoration of independence of Latvia in 1991, and as a part of the first Latvian Himalayan expedition, he together with Imants Zauls and Ilgvars Pauls reached the 8167 m high Dhaulagiri Peak on October 10, 1993, and on May 14, 1995 he and Imants Zauls became the first Latvians to summit Mount Everest (8848 m).
By 2001 he had reached the highest peaks of all continents, thus accomplishing the prestigious “Seven Summits” challenge for the most skilled of mountain climbers. During his lifetime he led over 50 mountain expeditions and wrote two books on alpinism.
On December 9, 2003 Ķirsis, together with his daughter and the two other members of his climbing group, tragically died while descending the mountain during the Aoraki/Mt Cook expedition (3754 m, New Zealand). These events have long vanished from the front pages of newspapers and top stories of the day. Despite over twenty years having elapsed since the accident, the successes and tragedies of the most famous Latvian alpinists live on, having become almost mythical and serving as an inspiration to those who have chosen to follow.
The upcoming film is directed and written by Viktors Buda (known for documentary Era of Dance). The Road Never Ends, which takes its title from one of Kirsis’s most famous comments, also features interviews with many renowned climbers and members of Teodors Ķirsis’ group, including Imants Zauls, Ilgvars Pauls, Juris Ulmanis, and other mountaineering personalities.
This is his story, in biopic format, authentically filmed with no studio green screens.
Work on the film began in the fall of 2022 and filming took place in several locations, including Kathmandu, the Himalayas and Aoraki/Mt Cook in New Zealand.
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