“It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
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That’s how cinematographer Stefan Duscio described working on Tenzing, a new film that took him to the breathtaking heights of Mount Everest.
Born and raised in Cobram, Stefan graduated from Cobram Secondary College in 1999, where his passion for visual storytelling began.
“I grew up wanting to write and draw comics, and so I was making a lot of my own comics in high school,” he said.
Stefan credited teachers Julie Luxmore, Kate Gillespie and Steve Noniman as having influenced him creatively.
He also experimented with filmmaking at school, making a crime film with friends for a Year 10 English project.
“I barely knew how to use a camera, I edited the movie with two VCRs, but it was just one of those things that set me off and that a lot of the town saw,” he said.
After graduating, Stefan moved to Melbourne to study at university, initially gaining entry with a portfolio of writing, drawing and painting.
Gradually, his interests began to shift towards filmmaking.
“I fell in love with the communal aspect of film-making where you would all get together as a team and make something greater than all of us could have made alone,” he said.
That passion led Stefan to work on short films and music videos, eventually leading to higher paid work in commercials and finally feature films.
Early in his career, Stefan met Australian cinematographer and Academy Award winner Andrew Lesnie, talking his way on to a set in Melbourne before joining him in New Zealand to assist on The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
“I was fresh out of university, didn’t quite understand cinematography ... I got a fast education but those couple of movies I did with Andrew blew my mind,” he said.
Stefan’s film credits include The Dry, The Invisible Man, Wolf Man, Shantaram and Jungle, as well as commercials and music videos, including one for Beyoncé.
His latest film, Tenzing, directed by Sydney filmmaker Jennifer Peedom, tells the story of Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, who reached the summit of Mount Everest alongside Sir Edmund Hillary in 1953.
Stefan said Jennifer approached him after being familiar with his previous work and they “hit it off”.
“I just fell in love with the way she wanted to make this film, it was very much for real, with no green screens, taking amazing actors on to some of the most incredible locations in the world,” he said.
Stefan was also drawn to the story of Tenzing Norgay, as he believed it deserved recognition.
“It’s one of the greatest untold stories of the 20th century, just wanted to be a part of telling that story because I think a lot of people don’t know it,” he said.
The New Zealand mountains proved a fitting substitute for Everest during filming with the cast and larger crew, with Stefan later travelling to Nepal to capture footage of the real mountain, ensuring its landscapes were authentically represented on screen.
“Anyone who’s been to Everest, we wanted them to feel like we were there every step of the way,” Stefan said.
The expedition took about a month, including an 11- to 12-day trek through the Khumbu Valley to reach Everest Base Camp, with Stefan describing the experience as “unbelievable”.
“It was so peaceful, it felt alive and spiritual ... I just fell in love with it,” he said.
He also went up in a helicopter to capture around the mountain from above.
“I wanted people to see the mountain in a way they’ve never seen it before,” Stefan said.
Filming at such a high altitude presented significant physical challenges, with even simple movements leaving him exhausted.
“When you normally might be able to walk with a backpack for 100 metres and feel fine, up there you feel exhausted doing that,” he said.
“I had to get fitter than I’ve ever been in my whole life just to be able to do that part of the shoot.”
Stefan said he fell in love with Nepal, making lifelong friends and describing the country as “stunning”.
Amid recent disasters in Nepal, Stefan said he hoped the film’s release would offer people there a positive story and “something hopeful to look to”.
Now living in Brunswick with his family, Stefan remains nostalgic about Cobram, where his parents still live and where he hopes to return to speak with students at his former school.
“I’ve always wanted to go back and do a talk — tell the kids everything I’ve done and that the sky’s the limit, you can do anything you want,” he said.
Stefan hopes his journey will encourage others to pursue their ambitions.
“There’s no excuse to not chase your dreams because everything is at your fingertips now,” he said.