RAWALPINDI, Aug 28: A German team announced here on Thursday to produce a film based on the true story of two brothers who climbed Nanga Parbat, or the Naked Mountain, in 1970 and one of them died during the descent. The surviving climber is among the members of the cast.

In a press briefing, film director Joseph Vilsmaier and famous climber Reinhold Messner said they would produce the film for the world cinema, highlighting the world’s fastest-growing mountain and the adventure that mountaineers take up while reaching the summit.

The film director said he had seen many movies based on mountaineering and he intended to film a real story making the people watch the expedition and the risks taken by Reinhold Messner and his brother in 1970.

He said they had come to Pakistan to shoot on Nanga Parbat and take it to the world showing the audience the natural beauty and the adventurism in the Northern Areas of the country.

The German director said the film would cost 6.9 million, adding that latest techniques would be used in the production of the 100-minute film. He said the film would be in German language, it would hopefully be completed till June next year.

Reinhold, who is also engaged in welfare work in the Northern Areas through his Messner Foundation, said he was offered a role in the project to bring the movie close to reality.

He said he along with his brother scaled the summit of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world, in 1970 but his brother died when an avalanche hit them as they climbed down. He was saved by other climbers and was helped by the locals in reaching the hospital.

Reinhold said he always loved visiting high mountains in Pakistan and Nanga Parbat had especially fascinated the mountaineers all around the world for being one of the most difficult summits to climb.

Nazir Sabir, the known Pakistani mountaineer, welcomed the filmmakers to the country and offered his gratitude to them for sending a positive message about Pakistan to the rest of the world during the most volatile times.

He said the film crew’s visit to Pakistan showed that the country was not unsafe to visit and it had enough natural beauty to force international filmmakers to shoot here.

The crew members, who include two doctors, expressed their satisfaction at the security situation, and said they had found the people most hospitable and caring.