SynopsisEmmy-nominated documentarian Tim Travers Hawkins was hiking when he stumbled upon the ruins of a zoo in the middle of the woods. A set of lost home movies became the starting point of American Zoo, a documentary that blasts open the doors of the old animal ground to uncover three generations of family secrets that will take you from the sheltered forests of rural U.S. to the height of German fascism, investigating the viciousness of humans who experimented with genetic modifications in animals — viciously believing to be able to bend the living to their cruel will. A work of carefully concocted precision, Hawkins’s latest is best enjoyed without much prior knowledge of this twisty, almost unbelievable story. But trust us, you are in for one hell of a ride. (ANNA BOGUTSKAYA)
