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On Oct. 5, 1999, legendary climber Alex Lowe was tragically lost in a deadly avalanche on the Himalayan peak, Mount Shishapangma. Miraculously surviving the avalanche was Alex’s best friend and climbing partner, the renowned mountaineer Conrad Anker who went on to marry Alex’s widow and help raise his three sons. From filmmaker, photographer and National Geographic Explorer Max Lowe, Torn turns the lens on his own family, as the body of his father, is uncovered 17 years after his death. A profoundly intimate look at the Lowe-Anker family, Max captures their intense personal journey toward understanding Alex as a man, not a myth and the emotionally and physically harrowing trek to Shishapangma, where they will finally put him to rest.


About the Director:


Max Lowe (Director) is a filmmaker and photographer known for the short films Slacker, Adventure Not War, Sky Migrations and, most recently, Bare Existence. He has produced commercial still and film content for brands such as The North Face, Calvin Klein and Toyota. Lowe has been on shoots taking him up Alaska’s Inside Passage, into the deserts of the Sahara and the high peaks of the Himalaya, as well as journeying to Antarctica by sea on three separate expeditions. From a young age Lowe was exposed to the magic of traveling to and observing some of the world’s most remote cultures and environments. Taking up storytelling as his mission, he received a National Geographic Young Explorers Grant in 2012 and since then has shot and produced for The Atlantic, National Geographic Adventure and National Geographic magazines. In addition to being seen on the BBC and in the IMAX film National Parks Adventure, Lowe has appeared in publications such as Science magazine, Men’s Journal and Outside magazine. From his backyard in Bozeman, Montana, to the far corners of the globe, Lowe has witnessed countless extraordinary moments, wildlife encounters and interactions with people from vastly different walks of life. It is from these experiences that his passion to capture stories and bring them to the world stems.


Torn is Sponsored AP Equipment Financing


The Tower Theatre is Sponsored by Brooks Resources

Regal Old Mill is Sponsored by The Starview Foundation

  • Runtime
    92 minutes
  • Director
    Max Lowe