Danbury Director's 'Bigfoot' Film Now Streaming On Amazon Prime

DANBURY, CT — A move made by a local film director has been selected for streaming on Amazon Prime.

Chris Simoes, 50, a Danbury native, directed and stars in "Bigfoot: The Conspiracy," which is currently streaming on Amazon in the U.S. and U.K.

"I started making movies for fun," said Simoes, a 1988 Danbury High School graduate. "To see our work now on a global platform like Amazon Prime is thrilling."

According to the description on the streaming service, the film follows Simoes' character, Dante, "a retired border patrol agent, who discovers the possible existence of Bigfoot and the shroud of darkness that surrounds it. Unsure about what to do, Dante decides to do what he must to protect his family."

Simoes has several years of experience in federal law enforcement, including 4 1/2 years as a border patrol agent. After an injury led to his untimely retirement, he began teaching himself film production. In 2014, he wrote, produced, and directed his first feature-length film, "Bigfoot: The Curse of Blood Mountain."

"When I started making films, I knew ‘Bigfoot’ movies had a huge cult following," said Simoes, who now lives in St. Augustine, FL. "There are countless super low-budget films in the genre, and I felt like I could add a good one to the mix."

"Bigfoot: The Curse of Blood Mountain" was named Best Local Film at the Southeastern International Film Festival 2015 and was named the official film of The Georgia Zombiefest. It also has more than 1.5 million views on YouTube.

The success of his first "Bigfoot" film prompted Simoes to produce and direct "Halfway to Hell," a movie about a man who "wakes up in a post-apocalyptic world full of survivors and killers and struggles to survive long enough to find his own identity." The feature attracted international attention, winning him the award for Best Editing of a Feature Film at the World Independent Cinema Awards in Milan, Italy in 2018. The movie has just under a million views on YouTube.

Simoes had Japanese subtitles added to his new "Bigfoot" film and is working with Amazon for a possible release in Japan.