‘Capturing Bigfoot’ Teaser Unearths Long-Lost Footage That Could Shake the Patterson-Gimlin Legend

One of the most famous—and fiercely debated—pieces of footage in history is returning to the big screen with a potentially seismic new discovery.

XYZ Films has released the new teaser for Capturing Bigfoot, the SXSW documentary from director Marq Evans (Claydream), while announcing an October 20, 2026, release in New York, Los Angeles, and select theaters nationwide.

The film will also be available for a limited time to rent or purchase exclusively through Prime Video in the United States and Canada beginning that same day.

The date is no accident. October 20 is National Bigfoot Day and marks the 59th anniversary of the Patterson-Gimlin film, the infamous 59-second strip of footage that allegedly captured an unidentified creature walking through the woods of Northern California in 1967.

The figure seen in that footage was eventually nicknamed “Patty,” becoming the definitive modern image of Bigfoot and launching decades of analysis, arguments, investigations, and increasingly unhinged conspiracy theories.

Capturing Bigfoot revisits Roger Patterson’s obsessive pursuit of the creature while introducing a potentially explosive new piece of the story: a reel of 16mm film discovered inside a safe more than five decades later. According to the official announcement, the discovery “blows the legend wide open,” bringing together several of the people who were there to finally provide a fuller picture of what happened.

Following its sold-out SXSW premiere, the documentary was deliberately withheld from additional festivals throughout 2026 to protect its never-before-seen material and allow audiences across North America to experience the revelation at roughly the same time.

XYZ Films is taking that secrecy particularly seriously. Theatrical screenings will reportedly feature heightened security, with recording equipment and other digital devices strictly prohibited to prevent the newly discovered footage from leaking.

The theatrical rollout also echoes the way Patterson originally carried his footage across the country, screening it for curious audiences and effectively going viral decades before the digital age.