‘The Python Hunt’ Trailer – Xander Robin’s Docu Captures A Wild Night in Florida’s Everglades

In the murky terrain of Florida’s Everglades, a wild story unfolds in The Python Hunt, a documentary following an eclectic cast of hunters as they navigate ten intense nights chasing invasive Burmese pythons.

Directed by Xander Robin, the film captures hunters including Toby Benoit, Jimbo McCartney, and Shannon McCartney in the real-life competition where survival, obsession, and spectacle collide.

The Python Hunt made a big splash when it world-premiered at the 2025 SXSW South by Southwest Film & TV Festival, where it earned a Special Jury Award. It is now set for its U.S. theatrical release on May 8, 2026.

Here is the synopsis: In an attempt to save the threatened ecosystem, the Florida government hosts an annual competition to remove invasive pythons from the Everglades. For ten grueling nights, python-mania overtakes the ‘glades as an eclectic group of amateur hunters contends with unforgiving terrain, aggressive nocturnal creatures, and their own desires and demons that push them into the swamp, searching for slithering glory.

Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, critic Daniel Fienberg described the documentary as “a wild and generally empathetic journey into the swamp of the American soul,” even as the storylines prove a little bit too squirmy and erratic for the documentary to come into focus in a wholly satisfying way.

Watch the official trailer for The Python Hunt above.