Director

MICHAEL DILLON was born in 1945 in Australia. Graduating from Sydney University in 1970, Dillon made his debut in cinema as an independent producer gradually specialising in directing mountain and adventure films. After the documentaries Flight of the Windhorse and A glorious way to die, he directed From the Ocean to the Sky, winner of the Golden Gentian at the 1980 Trento Festival. In 1984 he directed A journey to the dawning of the day; followed by Everest – The Australian challenge in 1986, which received an award at the Trento Festival. In 1993, his film Everest - Sea to Summit, was the Grand Prix winner in eight International Festivals. Dillon has produced six films with Sir Edmund Hillary; Beyond Everest, is a self-financed tribute to this exceptional man and his outstanding work, which was made in International Volunteer Year. The film was entered in the Graz, Poprad, Les Diablerets, Teplice, Calcutta and Vancouver Festivals.

Perhaps no Westerner has loved a non-Western population as much as Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to climb Everest in 1953.

Since then, he has devoted much of his life to the Nepalese Sherpas, helping to build schools, hospitals, bridges, monasteries and other facilities, thus leaving behind an unforgettable record of his presence.

The film, tender and moving, shows the intensity of what could be the last visit of a man who, long ago, transferred his affections from the mountains to the people of the mountains.

Photos
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