John Smithson

Deep Water -- The remarkable, true story of the first solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race and the psychological toll it took on its competitors.

Touching the Void -- Two men's thrilling and disastrous climb of the remote and treacherous Siula Grande in Peru. An incredible account of tragedy, friendship and human endurance.

Winner of the Best Documentary award at Rome Film Festival and an audience favorite at the 2007 Telluride Film Festival, Deep Water is the remarkable, true story of the first solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race, and the psychological toll it took on its competitors. In 1968 the Sunday Times of London sponsored the much-ballyhooed event which attracted a field of nine, including amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst. Battling treacherous seas and his own demons, Crowhurst almost immediately comes apart as he faces the isolation of nine months on the high seas. Part adventure yarn and part metaphysical mystery, this documentary from IFC Films is an unforgettable journey into one man’s heart of darkness.

The remarkable, true story of the first solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race and the psychological toll it took on its competitors.

The remarkable, true story of the first solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race and the psychological toll it took on its competitors.

In 1969, Donald Crowhurst, a former engineer whose bravado outweighed his sailing expertise, entered a London Times-sponsored yacht race around the world. This thrilling documentary incorporates actual footage of the race to depict the harrowing conditions Crowhurst faced. Refusing to turn back even as his homemade boat took on water, he depended on his ingenuity to survive the dangers of the sea and the threat of insanity.

One of the greatest adventure stories of all-time, Touching the Void recounts the thrilling, disastrous climb Joe Simpson and his mountaineering partner Simon Yates undertook as they set out to scale the previously insurmountable west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes. Winner of numerous awards including a BAFTA for Best British Film, this critically-lauded documentary from IFC Films combines dramatic reconstruction of the climb and interviews with the two climbers it nearly killed. It was 1985 and Joe Simpson and Simon Yates were young, fit, skilled climbers. The west face of Siula Grande, remote and treacherous, had not been climbed before. Following a successful 3 1/2 day ascent, disaster struck. Simpson fell a short distance and broke several bones in his leg. With no hope of rescue, the men decided to attempt descent together. What followed is one of the most incredible accounts of tragedy, friendship and human endurance.

Mixing interviews with dramatic re-enactments of the event, this gripping docudrama retells the mountaineering trek gone awry of Simon Yates (Nicholas Aaron) and Joe Simpson (Brendan Mackey), who falls and breaks his leg while climbing in the Andes. Yates, who's tethered to him, attempts to lower him to safety but fails, forcing him to make a pivotal decision that may or may not save both of their lives. The question is, was it the right one?

Two men's thrilling and disastrous climb of the remote and treacherous Siula Grande in Peru. An incredible account of tragedy, friendship and human endurance.

Two men's thrilling and disastrous climb of the remote and treacherous Siula Grande in Peru. An incredible account of tragedy, friendship and human endurance.

In Topanga Canyon, in a beautiful but sparely appointed house, Jean Mackenzie feels like she's suffocating in her marriage to Paul a tightly-wound architect.

In Topanga Canyon, in a beautiful but sparely appointed house, Jean Mackenzie feels like she's suffocating in her marriage to Paul a tightly-wound architect.