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“Exceptional” enthusiasm for Inoxtag’s documentary on Everest, according to Youtube
More than 11 million views in 24 hours: “the counters are going crazy” for the documentary by web star Inoxtag which retraces his ascent of Everest, testifying to an “exceptional” craze, a YouTube spokesperson told AFP on Sunday. Posted online Saturday at 2:30 p.m. on the platform owned by Google, where it is number one in trends, this film of nearly 2 hours and 30 minutes, entitled “Kaizen”, has also already generated more than 95,000 comments, often rave reviews, and collected more than a million “likes”. “Very exceptional figures that show the enthusiasm for this documentary,” according to the YouTube spokesperson contacted by AFP. It is “certainly” “one of the best launches in the history” of the platform in France, added the same source, in the absence of a precise ranking. The 22-year-old YouTuber, followed by more than 20 million subscribers on social networks, also did well in theaters by attracting some 340,000 spectators – including 40,000 abroad (Belgium, Quebec, Morocco, etc.) – to the previews of his film on Friday evening and Saturday morning, according to figures given to AFP on Sunday by its distributor, MK2. For content put online for free a few hours later, “this is unheard of,” commented for AFP Nathanaël Karmitz, one of the directors of MK2, praising the “desire for the collective experience” of the public and a film that “deserves to be seen on the big screen”. This documentary is also “very well suited to viewing on television” with the family, argues the YouTube spokesperson. Real name Inès Benazzouz, Inoxtag has more than 8 million subscribers on YouTube, 6.1 million on TikTok and 5.6 million on Instagram. “Kaizen” retraces the challenge of this mountaineering novice to climb Everest, the highest peak in the world (over 8,800 meters), by preparing for it in one year. In a farewell video to his fans at the beginning of April, Inoxtag said he would disconnect from all his networks while he made his ascent. Many media outlets had speculated on the success of his challenge. His film, which also shows the damage caused by overtourism, pollution, and the risks associated with this expedition, was acclaimed by his fans, also attracting some criticism in the press and on social networks. Libération notably deplored the invisibility of the work of the Sherpas, while the mountaineer and photographer Pascal Tournaire pointed out in L’Equipe a “very egocentric” film without any real “exploit”, according to him.ac/may/as
