The Bigfoot community is being torn apart by a documentary’s new evidence
"Capturing Bigfoot" director Marq Evans and a furry friend at the documentary's SXSW premiere. Errich Petersen/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
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A new documentary is challenging one of the most famous pieces of alleged evidence supporting the existence of Bigfoot. While the film does not claim to prove that Bigfoot doesn’t exist, it questions the authenticity of footage that believers have relied on for nearly six decades.
The documentary, titled “Capturing Bigfoot,” focuses on the well-known 1967 Patterson-Gimlin film, which appears to show a large, hairy creature walking upright through a forest in Northern California. The short, grainy clip—less than a minute long—shows the creature striding through the woods before briefly turning its head toward the camera. For many enthusiasts, the footage has long been regarded as the strongest visual evidence that an undiscovered hominid might inhabit the Pacific Northwest.
However, the new film presents previously unseen footage discovered in 2022 that could undermine that claim. According to the documentary, the newly found material appears to show a rehearsal or “practice run” filmed in 1966. In that clip, a person wearing a fur suit can be seen walking in a forest while Bob Gimlin rides nearby on horseback. The environment in the footage resembles Washington state—where Patterson and Gimlin lived—rather than Northern California, where the famous film was supposedly recorded.
The discovery came about when the documentary’s director, Marq Evans, who teaches film at Olympic College in Washington, was contacted by a colleague in 2022. She had inherited an old reel of film from her father, who had worked at a film-processing laboratory during the 1960s and had social connections with Patterson and Gimlin. She asked Evans to help get the film developed and transferred.
When examined, the reel appeared to contain the 1966 footage that the documentary now highlights. Based on markings on the film and other contextual clues, Evans believes it predates the famous Patterson-Gimlin recording by about a year and may have been a trial attempt at staging the scene later presented to the public.
The revelations have stirred intense debate among members of the Bigfoot community online. For many believers, the Patterson-Gimlin film has been the central piece of evidence supporting the creature’s existence. Joshua Kitakaze, a longtime Bigfoot enthusiast who participates in online research groups, said the film’s importance within the community cannot be overstated. Although he no longer believes Bigfoot is real, he still closely follows the culture and discussions surrounding the legend.
He described the footage as the cornerstone of belief for many followers, comparing its significance to a foundational symbol for a religion. If that evidence falls apart, he said, it could fundamentally change how many people view the mystery.
Some community members have openly expressed difficulty accepting the documentary’s conclusions. On online forums devoted to Bigfoot research, users have written that the Patterson-Gimlin footage had long been considered the most convincing evidence available. The idea that it might have been staged has left some struggling with the possibility that a decades-old belief could be built on a hoax.
Because “Capturing Bigfoot” has not yet received a wide release, most dedicated researchers and enthusiasts have not seen the documentary or the newly discovered footage themselves. As a result, many discussions are based on secondhand descriptions, creating uncertainty and speculation. Some skeptics have even suggested the new footage could be fabricated using artificial intelligence.
Evans has acknowledged the controversy surrounding the film and the skepticism from people who have not yet viewed it. He noted that the rise of AI technology has made some people question the authenticity of almost any visual evidence, since the possibility of digital fabrication now exists.
A small number of community figures have seen the documentary. Among them is Eric Palacios, an Austin-based YouTuber who runs a channel focused on investigating Bigfoot and other cryptids. After attending a screening at the SXSW festival, Palacios posted a video describing his reaction. He said that before watching the documentary he believed the Patterson-Gimlin footage had withstood scrutiny, but the new evidence convinced him otherwise.
His reaction has been influential within the Bigfoot community because relatively few people have had access to the film. At the same time, his comments have also drawn criticism and hostility from believers who strongly reject the documentary’s claims.
Palacios said the experience changed his view of the Bigfoot research community more than it changed his thoughts about whether the creature might exist. According to him, some reactions from prominent figures in the field—people who have appeared in television shows and documentaries discussing the Patterson footage—were troubling to see.
Despite the debate sparked by the documentary, the mystery itself remains unresolved. Even if the famous 1967 film is eventually proven to be staged, the existence of Bigfoot would still remain unconfirmed rather than definitively disproven. The legend of a large, unknown creature roaming North American forests continues to capture public imagination, and the discussion surrounding it shows no signs of disappearing anytime soon.
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