“Kaizen”, the phenomenal documentary on the ascent of Everest by YouTuber Inoxtag – rts.ch

The documentary titled “Kaizen”, a Japanese term meaning “change for the better”, tells the story of this extraordinary adventure. With no experience in mountaineering, Inoxtag set himself the challenge of climbing the highest peak in the world, at over 8,800 meters, in just one year of preparation.

The film, presented as a true epic, was shown with great fanfare on Friday evening at the Grand Rex, the largest cinema in Europe, in Paris. Simultaneously, screenings took place in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg, with a total of 200,000 tickets sold in a few hours in France. In Lausanne, 750 spectators attended the premiere, before the documentary was made available for free on YouTube on Saturday afternoon.

“It’s a very smart strategy on the part of Inoxtag,” comments Romain Rousseau, digital expert at Nuée, a production company based in Lausanne, on RTS. “He uses association marketing by connecting his image as a YouTuber to that of cinema, a universe usually reserved for major productions. This allows him to distinguish himself from other creators by adding an exclusive dimension to his project.”

In April, Inoxtag, whose real name is Inès Benazzouz, took a break from her social networks to prepare for her rise, sparking much speculation about her success. The farewell video to her fans was viewed nearly 8 million times.

“Mastery of narrative springs”

The success of this operation is the result of several factors, underlines Romain Rousseau. “Inoxtag is not unknown; he is a major figure on French-speaking social networks, with more than 20 million subscribers. He masters narrative springs and knows how to captivate his audience. The idea of ​​climbing Everest, a legendary mountain, as a digital personality rather than as a professional athlete, intrigues and inspires.”

He added: “The platforms’ algorithms push creators to produce high-quality, long-lasting works to retain users’ attention, which allows them to offer more advertising visibility.”

Critics

The expedition has not escaped criticism. Professional climbers and environmentalists have reacted strongly, accusing Inoxtag of encouraging overtourism in Nepal, a threat to the fragile Himalayan ecosystem and to the safety of visitors.

Others complain that his documentary may give the impression that climbing Everest is within everyone’s reach, both physically and financially.

Inoxtag responded to these criticisms by playing the transparency card, specifying that its project had an estimated cost between 600,000 and 1.2 million euros. And it showed in its film the damage caused by overtourism, pollution, as well as the risks linked to this expedition.

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