FOUNDATION FILMED ON TOP OF THE WORLD
A film has been released charting an attempt to conquer Mount Everest in aid of the Matt Hampson Foundation.
‘Everest for Hambo’ charts the Himalayan adventure of Foundation trustee Julian Evans alongside telling Matt’s story in the words of the people closest to him since his life-changing accident in 2005.
“Matt is a driving force for me to try to summit Everest,” Julian says as the film follows his dramatic expedition in the company of film-maker Stuart Kershaw from In The Dark Productions and a support team.
A long-time friend of Matt’s – he also played at Oakham Rugby Club where Matt’s journey in the sport began – Julian has taken on a number of challenges to raise funds and awareness of the Foundation but the new film follows his biggest and most dangerous exploration so far.
The film reinforces the parallels of the importance of teamwork to Matt’s Foundation and Julian’s climb, and over its 80 minutes, the cameras capture the team’s commitment to reach the top of the world, from initial planning stages and warm-up in Scotland to the team’s arrival in Nepal and on to the base camps and beyond on the north col of Mount Everest.
Along the way they share the drama and dark humour of approaching human limits with the challenges of acclimatisation, altitude sickness and sleeplessness, plus Julian’s encounters with death and danger during the three-month trip.
Alongside the expedition narrative, there is time to meet Matt and learn about his own bravery from many of the people central to the story including his parents, author of his book Paul Kimmage, rugby legends Jonny Wilkinson and Mike Tindall and TV personality James Corden together with royal approval from Prince Harry and an emotional interview with former referee Tony Spreadbury whose reactions played such a big part on the day that Matt’s life changed.
The Foundation’s Get Busy Living Centre shares centre stage with Julian and the climbers, being described as Matt’s own Everest, “his dream, his goal for many years, to allow him to help other people”.
Assessing his daring challenge at more than 8,000 metres above sea level for the cameras, Julian sums up both his view of the historic climb and Matt’s ‘get busy living’ mantra which drives his Foundation’s work to support and inspire young people seriously injured through sport, saying: “You have got to seize the opportunities, the moments, that you get”.
‘Everest for Hambo’ is available to download, rent or buy from Amazon Prime now.
