VENICE: The Venice film festival kicked off on Wednesday with a world premiere for “Everest,” a $65-million 3D drama based on a real-life disaster on the Himalayan peak.

Director Baltasar Kormakur’s two-hour film recounts the events of May 10-11, 1996, when eight climbers died near the summit after being caught in ferocious blizzard conditions.

In particular it focuses on the internal dynamics and characters of two groups led by New Zealander Rob Hall, played by Australian actor Jason Clarke, and American Scott Fischer, played in surfer-dude style by Jake Gyllenhaal.

Portrayed as equally talented but temperamentally contrasting, the two men were among those who died over the course of two days in which no fewer than 34 people were attempting to reach the summit in brutal conditions, ultimately resulting in a series of life-and-death decisions having to be made under almost unimaginable duress.