Adventure of War
by Karen Pecota

Director Max Lowe films three U.S. Veterans, Stacy Bare, Robin Brown and Matthew "Griff" Griffin, as they travel into the mountains of Iraq on a unique mission: one to heal wounds and experience the country and its culture without the shadow of war in Adventure of War.

Lowe follows the three U.S. Military Captains for two weeks to revisit Iraq where they once served in order to put some psychological pieces of their story back together that might have otherwise been lost. Bare admits, "I came home from war but war never really left me." He adds, "Some of my friends came back in boxes. Others filled those boxes stateside. Climbing and skiing kept me out of the grave."

Lowe documents a heartfelt story of the Captains' unexpected journey to approach war from a different angle. Their goal is to encourage veterans to reclaim their lives and use the history of their service to rewrite a positive narrative. They hope that the visual featuring their experience will show the beauty of a country not their own through adventure instead of war.

Bare needed to leave the war behind him and in doing so he needed to rediscover the country where he served in a whole new light. His way was to take advantage of his outdoor passions and the opportunities the country of Iraq offered with climbing and skiing. Bare notes, "I wanted to show America places where people missed in normal war reporting." Adding, "I wanted to highlight the shared humanity between those of us who fight wars and the people who live in the places where we've been."

One of the places the three veterans traveled was to Kurdistan to work alongside the non-profit Tent, Ed., providing educational resources to children displaced by war, as well as, do their first ski ascent and decent of Mount Halgurd, the tallest peak within Iraqi boarders. The inspiration derived from the Captains is an adventure to remember.

More info on Adventure Not War initiative founded by Stacy Bare: www.adventurenotwar.com/what-is-anw