The story of Noah’s Ark is one of the first biblical parables millions of children learn. The story is of a man who built a gargantuan ark and took two of each of the world’s animals along with his family to safety as the world was destroyed by a flood. It has been a staple of Abrahamic religions such as Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Many regard it as a tale not to be taken literally. Others believe it on faith alone. Another group sought evidence to determine the truth.
Holt Condren, 50, owner of Ink Custom Tees in Maumelle, is of the latter.
The White Hall native is a part of the documentary Finding Noah, which features a team of archaeologists and climbers that scaled Mount Ararat in Turkey in search of evidence of the ark’s existence. Finding Noah debuts in theaters across the country Oct. 8.
“I had a real interest since I was about 17 years old about biblical archaeology,” Condren says, “Noah’s Ark in particular.”
Condren says he became interested in finding Noah’s Ark again at age 37 when he saw a documentary about it that he had seen before as a teenager. Condren already had experience as a mountaineer and a survivalist. He had climbed Mount Whitney in California, the tallest peak in the contiguous 48 states, and also spent 30 days alone in the Leatherwood and Lower Buffalo River wilderness.
“I started trying to make connections and found someone who was leading the first major expedition in 2009 who was using ground-penetrating radar under the surface of the eastern plateau, and they needed someone with mountaineering experience,” Condren says.
Finding Noah follows the 2013 expedition of Condren and other explorers as they trek up to Mount Ararat’s desolate summit. The team seeks to answer one question: Did Noah and his ark actually exist?
“Turkey had not allowed people to do major expeditions on the mountain in almost 10 years,” Condren says. “But there was a group trying to use scientific technology to look underneath the ice cap with satellite technology and ground-penetrating radar to see if there was a structure under the ice cap.”
Condren says the crew faced major hardships, from the freezing temperature in the thin air of the higher elevations to being threatened by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, better known as the PKK.
“The film is not written as a Christian film; it includes skeptics and other people who are not Christian,” Condren says.
Film director and producer Brent Baum approached the group of explorers about making the film. Baum had a hand in the development, production, financing or distribution of movies such as The Wedding Planner, Eye of the Beholder, Drowning Mona and Thomas and the Magic Railroad.
“Baum had never produced a documentary and wanted to produce a first-class documentary because he was intrigued about what drives people to go to these extents to search for the ark,” Condren says. “He and his staff followed us with fuzzy microphones and all the equipment up the 17,000-foot mountain.”
Condren says Finding Noah gives a broad look at the search for the ark, from its history to other perspectives.
“I saw a raw, unedited version of the film, and it’s a first-class Hollywood production,” Condren says. Condren adds that the film is narrated by Gary Sinise, who is most famous for playing Lt. Dan Taylor in Forrest Gump, as well as the leading role of Detective Mac Taylor in the long-running television series CSI: NY.
The team also used video documentation from the other three trips that Condren and his crew have made up the mountain since 2009.
Finding Noah will show at the Rave and Breckenridge theaters in Little Rock on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. Showings will also be held in Benton, Conway and Hot Springs. After the film ends, there will be a panel discussion. Condren says the showing is a one-night-only event, and the film will receive a DVD and Blu-ray release in early 2016, followed by a TV premiere expected to air in the spring.
But the question remains: Did they find Noah’s Ark?
“You’ll have to see the movie to know that for sure,” Condren says with a laugh.