Award-winning and moving documentary debuts at Mary D. Fisher Theatre
Snowy weather in Sedona? Looking for fun things in Sedona when it snows? The Sedona International Film Festival is proud to present the Northern Arizona premiere of the award-winning documentary “Torn” showing Jan. 7-12 at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre.
When world-renowned climber Alex Lowe was tragically lost in a deadly avalanche, his best friend and climbing partner went on to marry his widow and help raise his three sons. This profoundly intimate film from eldest son Max, captures the family’s intense personal journey toward understanding as they finally lay him to rest.
Widely hailed as the greatest mountaineer of his day, Alex Lowe was a hero to a generation of outdoor sports enthusiasts. Handsome, charismatic and almost supernaturally energetic, he found a kindred spirit and climbing partner in fellow alpinist Conrad Anker. One of the few family men in a perilous field typically reserved for young single men, Lowe struggled to balance his insatiable need to tackle risky ascents with his adoration and love for his wife, Jennifer, and their three young sons.
In 1999, Lowe, Anker and cameraman David Bridges were part of an expedition sponsored by The North Face to summit Tibet’s 26,289-foot Mount Shishapangma. On a scouting day, Alex, David and Conrad were crossing a snowfield beneath the face of the peak when a massive avalanche struck. Anker survived, but Lowe and Bridges did not. Wracked with survivor’s guilt, Anker reached out to offer his support to Jennifer and her sons, Max, 11, Sam, 7, and Isaac, 3. Soon after, he and Jennifer fell in love and were married, and Anker adopted the boys, whom he raised as his own.
In 2016, 17 years after their deaths, Lowe’s and Bridges’ bodies were discovered, melted from the glacier in which they were buried, by climbers Ueli Steck and David Goettler. Lowe’s family journeyed to the remote Himalayan mountain to recover the men’s remains. In the powerful and deeply moving new documentary “Torn”, director Max Lowe examines the long-buried feelings the discovery unearthed for him and his family members.
Weaving together archival footage of Alex’s spellbinding adventures, revealing home movies, and emotional interviews with Jennifer, Sam, Isaac and Conrad, Lowe challenges long-held family myths and questions his own beliefs as he creates an insightful examination of fatherhood, love, loss and resilience set against the high-stakes world of professional mountain climbing.
“Torn” will be shown at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre Jan. 7-12. Showtimes will be 7 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 7, 8 and 9; and 4 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 10, 11 and 12.
Tickets are $12, or $9 for Film Festival members. For tickets and more information, please call 928-282-1177. Both the theatre and film festival office are located at 2030 W. Hwy. 89A, in West Sedona. For more information, visit: www.SedonaFilmFestival.org.
