Capturing Bigfoot

Capturing Bigfoot is coming to the Portland Art Museum on Wednesday, October 14, for a special screening presented by the Oregon Historical Society. It's a documentary about the most famous piece of Bigfoot footage ever shot, and the night includes a Q&A with the people who brought it together.

If you've ever seen the clip, you know the one: 59 seconds of a creature walking through the Northern California woods, filmed by Roger Patterson on October 20, 1967. It's become one of the most analyzed and debated films in history, with people still arguing over it decades later. Capturing Bigfoot tells the story behind that footage, and it starts with a discovery: a reel of 16mm film found in a safe fifty-nine years after the original shoot. That reel changed the story, and this is the first time it's being told.

What makes it more than just a look at the footage is where the story comes from. It's told by Patterson's own son, Clint Patterson, and by the people who were there. Because of that, it's as much about family legacy and broken friendships as it is about the creature itself. The film looks at the human side of the mystery—the people who lived through it and the relationships that shifted around it—rather than just the debate over whether the creature was real.

After the screening, there's a Q&A with director Marq Evans, producer Tamir Ardon, and Clint Patterson, so you can hear from the people who put the film together. This is a special preview ahead of the film's general release on October 20, and recording devices aren't allowed inside. The screening runs from 6 PM to 8 PM at the Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Ave, and tickets are $15 to $20.