Creatures, Myths & Legends

New documentary offers final verdict on Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot video

By T.K. Randall
March 15, 2026 ·  148 comments

Image: AI-generated (Bing AI / Dall-E 3) There are few pieces of cryptozoological evidence as widely debated as the Patterson-Gimlin footage - a video filmed in 1967 in Northern California which offers a clear view of a large bipedal ape-like creature walking along a creek bed.

You can view the original video - here.

Roger Patterson maintained until his death in 1972 that the footage was genuine, while Gimlin always denied that he had been a part of a hoax to create the clip.

Many argue that the creature in the footage was simply a person wearing a costume, while others remain adamant that it represents genuine evidence that Bigfoot is the real deal.

Disagreement over the nature of the clip has been ongoing for more than 58 years.Now, though, a new documentary by filmmaker Marq Evans claims to have indisputably exposed the footage as an "incredible hoax".

Entitled Capturing Bigfoot, the documentary includes previously unseen footage to help make the case that the creature filmed that day in 1967 by Patterson and Gimlin was a person in a costume.

While you'll need to watch the documentary to get the full story, the new footage essentially shows a "trial run" of the scene in the original clip, thus proving once and for all that it had been staged.

"It took me maybe nine months to realize what we really had," said Evans.

"What we eventually found out is that [this new footage] represented a trial run, a rehearsal that was never discarded."

Capturing Bigfoot is screening now at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival and should see a wider release later this year.


Source: People.com | Comments (148)

Tags: Bigfoot