Route 66 Documentary Screens at the KiMo This October

A century after Route 66 first connected communities across America, a new feature-length documentary highlights the people and places keeping its story alive. Route 66: The Main Street Of America, a documentary by award-winning filmmaker John Paget, begins its roadshow on September 1 in Chicago, the starting point of Route 66. This rolling premiere will travel more than 2,400 miles through the eight Route 66 states, including a stop in Albuquerque for shows at the KiMo Theatre on October 1 and 2. 

"The story of Route 66 keeps evolving,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “Every new perspective reminds us why it continues to bring people together and how important it is to Albuquerque."

The Main Street of America Roadshow will bring the film directly to the communities that define Route 66. Each stop will center around a screening followed by live conversations with Paget and people featured in the film, offering audiences an opportunity to connect with the stories shaping Route 66 today. The documentary is a centennial portrait that travels the Mother Road, revealing a modern revival. From unexpected roadside attractions to revitalized main streets, each encounter reveals communities finding new life and purpose - making new history - proving the most meaningful journeys often unfold on the road less traveled.

Following the screening at the KiMo Theatre on October 1, Paget and folks featured in the film will hold live Q&A sessions where people can share their own memories, perspectives, and hopes for the future. General admission tickets are $18. General admission tickets to the October 2 matinee at 12:30 p.m. are $10. Tickets are available at the KiMo’s ticket website. 

Explore the depths with deep sea divers in a desert oasis. Meet a family in Luther, Oklahoma, restoring one of America’s earliest Black-owned gas stations. Mix with a couple who decided it was high time someone made bourbon in a town called Bourbon. Find trees made from bottles. And a ghost town that somehow became a flower farm.

Whether you’ve driven Route 66 or only imagined it, this film takes you there to meet the everyday heroes that are bringing motels, diners, theaters, souvenir shops, filling stations, a prison, and a steam train – quirky landmarks and hidden gems – back to life. An immersive, heartfelt portrait of this American icon emerges full of humor, warmth, and discovery.

“Route 66 has always been about more than pavement; it’s about people,” said Paget. “Route 66 is not simply about what has been preserved. It’s about what people are still building. In every town we met people who believe history is more than something to remember – it’s something that inspires what comes next.”

As Route 66 celebrates its centennial, the film looks beyond nostalgia to explore the resilience, creativity, and determination of the people carrying America’s Main Street forward.

“My hope is that this film inspires people to see Route 66 as a story still being written,” said Paget. “The next chapter will be shaped by the people who believe these places, and these stories, still matter.”

Designated an “Official Project of the U.S. Route 66 Centennial Commission,” the film has garnered support from national and community partners committed to preserving, celebrating, and promoting The Main Street of America.

“One of the greatest challenges facing Route 66 isn't preserving its past, it’s inspiring the people who will protect its future,” said Bill Thomas, chair of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership and commissioner for the Route 66 Centennial Commission. “This documentary does both.”  

The Main Street of America Roadshow will feature more than 40 screening events across Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. 

Learn more at the Main Street of America website.