Woodstock Film Festival to kick off with screening of ‘American Zoo’

CATSKILL―The Woodstock Film Festival is putting the Hudson Valley center stage for its 27th edition, announcing a special festival kickoff screening and conversation of the documentary American Zoo in Catskill and the first-ever discounted ticket and pass options created exclusively for Hudson Valley residents.

The festival kicks off on Tuesday, October 13 at 7 p.m. with the Hudson Valley premiere of a special screening of American Zoo at the Community Theater, 373 Main Street in Catskill, followed by a conversation with director Tim Travers Hawkins and special guests.

The Catskill Game Farm, America’s first and eventually largest privately owned zoo, created beloved childhood memories for generations before closing in 2006 after 73 years. But among the ruins of the once-idyllic Hudson Valley institution, filmmakers discovered thousands of archival materials and reels of home movies that revealed a far more complicated history.

Directed by Tim Travers Hawkins, American Zoo traces the Catskill Game Farm from its 1933 founding by German immigrant Roland Lindemann through his 1959 decision to bring German zoologist Dr. Heinz Heck to America as zoo director, a move that would forever entwine the attraction with a disturbing zoological legacy. Through newly uncovered archival material and interviews with those who lived and worked at the Catskill Game Farm and historical experts, the documentary explores the startling history behind a place remembered fondly by generations.

Hawkins is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker known for cinematic and investigative nonfiction exploring systems of power, justice and institutional accountability. American Zoo, had its world premiere at the 2026 Tribeca Festival.

The Catskill screening will be moderated by Noah Eckstein, founding editor-in-chief of The Overlook, with the publication serving as a Community Presenter for the event. The Overlook, a nonprofit news outlet providing public-service journalism across seven towns in the Catskills. Eckstein’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Vogue, Semafor, Variety, The Guardian and Fast Company, among other national and international publications.

Tickets for the American Zoo Festival kick-off event are available at woodstockfilmfestival.org/american-zoo.

The Woodstock Film Festival runs October 14–18 with the full 2026 program lineup, including films shot throughout the Hudson Valley, to be revealed in mid-September.

For the first time, the Woodstock Film Festival is introducing discounted ticket packages and passes exclusively for Hudson Valley residents. The HV Locals program is available to residents of Ulster, Dutchess, Columbia, Greene and Orange Counties, with eligibility verified by ZIP code at checkout.

“The Hudson Valley has been our home since our inception back in 2000, shaping our identity and inspiring our journey, and the community here has been an essential part of our path forward throughout it all,” said Meira Blaustein, co-founder and executive director of the Woodstock Film Festival.

“Every fall our neighbors welcome filmmakers and audiences from around the world, fill our theaters and restaurants, and help create the energy that makes this festival so special,”  Blaustein said. “We wanted to find a meaningful way to make the festival more accessible to the people who live here and give our local community even more opportunities to experience it together, making ours, theirs too.”

For more information and year-round event calendar, visit woodstockfilmfestival.org.

‍