Frank Klicar has released a new documentary film, "In Search of the Holy Grail" and he will be premiering it at Kingsbury Hall on the University of Utah campus on Monday, November 15, at 7:30 p.m. This will be the third film of the current University Travel Club season. This travelogue is a sequel to Klicar's "The Crusader Road to Jerusalem," which was released in 1995. It continues Klicar's series of highly praised historical documentaries.
The film will focus on the legends surrounding this mystical object which has been the subject of many romantic tales dating back to the Middle Ages. "There are several interpretations of what the Grail might be, depending on which source you read," said Klicar, "and the most important theories will be discussed in the film."Viewers will begin their journey in the Holy Land where the film will trace the story of the most popular theory about the Grail -- that it was a cup used by Jesus of Nazareth at the Last Supper. The search for the Grail by the fighting monastic order, the Knights Templar, which developed during the Crusades, will also be covered.
The story will then move to the British Isles where the Grail became associated with the legendary King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The question of whether King Arthur really existed also leads to asking whether the Grail was ever in Britain. The film will visit a number of sites in Scotland, Wales and England, which may prove that there actually was a ruler named Arthur in the 5th Century.
As the search continues, the film will travel to France where several of the great Grail Romances were written in the Middle Ages. Here, too, another possible location of the Grail is alleged by various authors. "It may," Klicar says, "have been part of the lost treasure of the Cathars."
Finally, the story will come full circle and back to the Eastern Mediterranean where, according to Klicar, the most current and perhaps most startling theory of what the Grail was and where it is located will be discussed.
"I like a good mystery," said Klicar, "and the subject of the Grail has been one of the greatest mysteries of the last two thousand years." He added, "We'll be covering many extremely interesting and little known sites in Europe and the Middle East in the course of our search. I am convinced that audiences today not only want to be entertained, they also want to learn something in the process. One thing I'll guarantee," Klicar added, "this film will give viewers a lot to think about as they leave the theater."
Purchase tickets at the Performing Arts Ticket Office in Kingsbury Hall. The Ticket Office phone number is 581-7100. There is no charge for parking in the Rice/Eccles stadium parking lot where a shuttle service will begin at 6:30 p.m. "UTC films are open to the public," said Lynda Christensen, Manager of Events and Operations at Kingsbury Hall and longtime coordinator of the film series.