“AMERICAN ZOO” // TRIBECA 2026
BY MATEO MORENO
What if you grew up in one of the most popular, and largest, privately owned zoos in America? Your father opened it and ran it and thousands flocked to see animals in their natural habitats within the zoo every year. We have places like this today, but back in 1933, this was a groundbreaking place. Everyone loved working there. All the patrons loved being there. Looking back, you have so many fond memories. There’s just one problem. A team of filmmakers in 2006 discover something that’s been hidden for years. Your precious father, beloved by all who saw him, has a hidden, dark past. One that’s been unknown to you for all of your life. Kind of reframes your whole childhood in a matter of seconds. AMERICAN ZOO, the new documentary from Tim Travers Hawkins, explores The Catskill Game Farm, America’s very first (and largest) privately owned zoo, which was opened in 1933 by Roland Lindemann, a German immigrant who loved animals so much that he needed to share that love with the world. But what seemed like a beautiful area where animals could roam cage-free for 73 years had a much more sinister past.
Where The Catskill Game Farm is located is actually nicknamed “The Borscht Belt”, stemming from the fact that this area was a vacation haven for Jewish residents of New York City for decades. Without spoiling what the discovery is, notating that nickname and that the Zoo director was handpicked from Berlin to come and work on “experimentation,” it might clue you into what direction we’re heading.
In 1959, Lindemann hired Dr. Heinz Heck to become the zoological director. And in doing so, Heck brought in some very twisted ideas that resemble some twisted ideas that sprung out of Germany in the 1930’s (yeah, those). These ideas sprung forth a new era within the zoo, a dirty secret that, because of hours of old videos, are now coming to light. Tim Travers Hawkins and his crew began working on a documentary about the zoo and among the trash they found there, they discovered hours and hours of old home movies that had been made and had left behind (it’s bizarre but it seems that nearly everything was documented, leaving behind a treasure trove of hidden secrets to be uncovered). His daughters discover ties to a very dark past and it’s heartbreaking to see. Hawkins and his crew uncover a horrifying connection that ties eugenics to the zoo’s history, and the documentary plays out like a mystery. It’s a sad and fascinating doc, showcasing how the horrors of the past can never be fully buried and how even those with good intentions cannot escape the fact that building something like this kind of sanctuary is still harmful for the animals you so love. They will eventually be sold off and auctioned and, in cases like this, sold to the wrong kind of people and simply killed. There is no happy ending in a place like this.
GRADE: A
DIRECTED BY Tim Travers Hawkins SELECTED AS PART OF THE 2026 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL. FOR MORE INFO: https://tribecafilm.com/films/american-zoo-2026