Sindeh: The Final Climb

Sindeh: The Final Climb is a documentary pitch we made to FINAS during the FINAS's "Ke Persada Dunia". The idea was among 45 proposals from around 300 others. We then went to Mount Kinabalu to shoot a 'character reel' (to prove to funders that he exists) in March. 

This documentary will feature one of Mount Kinabalu’s pioneer guide and trekker - Sindeh  bin Sipoi. Born in 1945, Sindeh worked as a mountain guide for tourists and researchers making daily ascends up the majestic Mount Kinabalu for more than 30 years. His service ended in 2000 when he reached the retiring age of 55. Today (2009), at 64 years of age, we found him living a tranquil life in the scenic valley of Bundu Tuhan in the foothills of the Mount Kinabalu, with his wife and nine of his twelve children. 

Our choice for Sindeh to tell the story of the life of a Mount Kinabalu guide is because, like the Sherpas of Nepal, Sindeh, a weathered mountain man, have seen the good and bad times where his accidental profession evolved from a mere 10 men to a stable of 200 strong today. These mountain trekkers possesses the same prowess, endurance and skills that aid their daily routine guiding duties up and down South East Asia’s highest mountain, (4095m).

What makes this documentary more dramatic is Sindeh can no longer walk (possibly due to severe arthritis in both of his knees). He wishes to go back and climb the mountain again one day.

The documentary will explore the history of the Mount Kinabalu mountain guide: the origins, the people - their physical and mental strength, what has happened over the years and the challenges that they face. It will also explore a more detailed aspects of human struggle, social conditioning, their survivalism and life values. On the same token, viewers will be entertained with interesting facts and beauty that surround Mount Kinabalu and the villages at its foothills. The viewers will further engaged with Sindeh’s dream to one day climb the mountain again despite his medical conditions that rendered him immobilised.  Viewers will want to know how this is possible and continously asking whether Sindeh will get his chance to reclaim his dream. 

The answer will be revealed at the end of the documentary. Nobody really can tell if Sindeh will be successful in climbing back the mountain since the story is yet to be told, but we promise a satisfying ending to everybody that watches the documentary.

Unfortunately this pitch was not selected.