{"id":432620,"date":"2026-01-27T11:14:16","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T11:14:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/432620\/"},"modified":"2026-01-27T11:14:16","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T11:14:16","slug":"sundance-film-captures-the-race-to-save-great-salt-lake-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/432620\/","title":{"rendered":"Sundance film captures the race to save Great Salt Lake \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

With one foot already out<\/a> the door, the 45th and final Sundance Film Festival in Park City cast a spotlight on a looming local crisis unfolding just 30 miles from its downtown hub \u2014 the Great Salt Lake\u2019s rapid, ongoing decline. <\/p>\n

In early 2023, a report<\/a> from Brigham Young University warned that excessive local water use had pushed the Great Salt Lake to the brink of collapse. The lake had already lost 60% of its surface area, and without immediate intervention, it could vanish completely in five years. <\/p>\n

The report captured the attention of Utah filmmaker Abby Ellis, who began chronicling the lake\u2019s decline and the desperate, ongoing scramble to save it. Through the eyes of two local scientists and a politician, Ellis shows how government, science, faith and advocacy can overcome tension and join forces to confront an environmental crisis.<\/p>\n

Aerial footage shown in the documentary captures the shrinking perimeter of the lake, where former waters have given way to cracked, dusty earth. Bird carcasses are scattered beyond the lake\u2019s receding shores, alarming scientists who describe the land as a graveyard. <\/p>\n

For audiences who are unfamiliar with the current status of the Great Salt Lake, Ellis\u2019 footage paints an ominous image. The once-thriving body of water is now in stark decline. <\/p>\n

Unlike much of Ellis\u2019 work, \u201cThe Lake\u201d concludes with a message of hope \u2014 with continued advocacy, scientific research and coordinated efforts, the Great Salt Lake could be restored from the verge of collapse. <\/p>\n

\"\"A still from “The Lake” by Abby Ellis, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. | Sundance Institute <\/p>\n

The film has not secured distribution yet, but has attracted big backers, including Leonardo DiCaprio and Jimmy Chin. It also earned a prominent placement at the festival as part of Sundance\u2019s U.S. documentary competition. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Lake\u201d premiered on opening day of the Sundance Film Festival at the Ray Theatre in Park City, a placement Ellis says reflects the deep love and appreciation festival organizers have developed for Utah over the 4\u00bd decades Sundance has called the state home. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been a filmmaker my whole career, and Sundance is obviously the pinnacle in many ways, it\u2019s a dream to premiere a film opening day in the documentary competition. … It\u2019s a huge honor, and I\u2019m really excited about it,\u201d Ellis, who served as both director and producer of \u201cThe Lake,\u201d told the Deseret News. <\/p>\n

\"\"Abby Ellis, Utah filmmaker, director and producer of “The Lake,” attends a press line for the film, held before the premiere of \u201cThe Lake\u201d at The Ray Theatre as part of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. | Margaret Darby, Deseret News <\/p>\n

She continued, \u201cIt\u2019s really special that the programmers felt as much as they did about this film, knowing that they\u2019ve been doing this festival here for so long, and I think it shows that they\u2019ve really developed a love for this place, wanting to feature (this film) as prominently as they are.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Great Salt Lake: What is at stake?<\/p>\n

Roughly two-thirds of the Great Salt Lake has already vanished, exposing toxic dust in the lakebed \u2014 which contains high concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, lead, copper and mercury, according to the documentary.<\/p>\n

\"\"Boat docks are dried up and unusable at the Antelope Island Marina on Tuesday, July 29, 2025. Water levels in the Great Salt Lake are low during a sustained drought. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Winds across the Great Salt Lake carry those toxic dust particles into surrounding communities, where it can live in the air for as long as two weeks unless cleared out by precipitation. When inhaled, that dust is harmful to human health and can cause a wide range of respiratory and systemic issues.<\/p>\n

Unsettling footage of thick, airborne dust from the lake settling over Salt Lake Valley for weeks at a time provide additional weight to scientific claims. <\/p>\n

If the lake dries, toxic dust storms threaten air quality for more than 2.8 million people<\/a> who live along the Wasatch Front. <\/p>\n

The Great Salt Lake is also a haven to millions of birds, and a critical body of water on the Pacific flyway, putting dozens of bird species at risk of extinction, said Bonnie Baxter, a microbiologist featured in \u201cThe Lake,\u201d who has been studying the Great Salt Lake for over 20 years. <\/p>\n

\"\"Bonnie Baxter, Utah microbiologist and subject in “The Lake,\u201d attends a press line for the film, held before the premiere of \u201cThe Lake\u201d at The Ray Theatre as part of the Sundance Film Festival in Park City on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026. | Margaret Darby, Deseret News <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our backyard. This is a potential catastrophe,\u201d Baxter said Thursday ahead of the premiere of \u201cThe Lake.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cThe most immediate crisis for humans is air quality … that issue is really the most pressing human health issue. And then there\u2019s the fact that 10 million birds come here and they depend on Great Salt Lake,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt\u2019s both an environmental crisis and a human health crisis.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"Dust blows across the dry lakebed of the Great Salt Lake near Salt Lake City on Friday, Aug. 12, 2022. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News <\/p>\n

Roughly 800,000 acre-feet, or 261 billion gallons<\/a> of water is required to pull the lake out of its current status \u2014 an aim, the film demonstrates, that is an epic challenge. <\/p>\n

Competing perspectives and motives create early tension in the film, but Ellis highlights how characters of different faith and political parties can come together to overcome the Great Salt Lake crisis, which becomes increasingly personal to every local in its own ways. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe film demonstrates that people from different areas of expertise, whether science or politics or different political affiliations, can work together to achieve the goal that they want \u2014 and that the goal that they\u2019re striving for, can also be the same,” Ellis said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAt the end of the day, we all want to breathe clean air, and we all want a vibrant economy, and we want to be able to live here.\u201d <\/p>\n

Faith also plays a role in the search for a solution to the lake crisis. Ellis spotlights the religious beliefs of Ben Abbott, an ecologist and subject of the film, who is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. <\/p>\n

Throughout the documentary, Abbott relies on his faith as a guide to make difficult decisions. Oftentimes surrounded by his four children, Abbott is captured studying scripture and kneeling in prayer. He does not see scientific evidence and his religious beliefs as contradictory, rather, they steer him simultaneously. <\/p>\n

While submerging himself in a natural stream of water, Abbott shares how he believes we are all meant to be good stewards of the land, to do our part and then expect divine intervention to fill in the gaps \u2014 Ellis found this perspective unifying. <\/p>\n

\u201cI was excited at the prospect of showing you know this brilliant scientist who\u2019s a devout Mormon. The scripture and the teachings that he\u2019s talking about all of the time, are incredibly universal, like take care of the earth that we\u2019ve been given,\u201d Ellis said. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know a lot of people who disagree with that,\u201d she added. \u201cWhen faith is often used now as a tool for division, I was hoping that this could let people know that we have more in common.\u201d <\/p>\n

Gov. Cox vows to fill the Great Salt Lake<\/p>\n

Gov. Spencer Cox made an ambitious projection to a Sundance crowd following a Friday screening of \u201cThe Lake.\u201d <\/p>\n

Cox, who makes several appearances in \u201cThe Lake,\u201d told audiences, \u201cthe Great Salt Lake will be full in 2034,\u201d when the Winter Olympics return to Utah. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re gonna do it,\u201d he added, noting that restoring the lake will require extra effort and involvement, and urged Utahns stay in the state and remain involved until the Great Salt Lake is filled. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you care about the Great Salt Lake, don\u2019t just watch a movie or send a terse email to a legislator. We need you here. We need you here supporting the changes that are happening,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need you advocating; we need you here donating. We need you here until the lake is full. So please, please don\u2019t abandon us. Please stay.\u201d <\/p>\n

The governor\u2019s vow to fill the Great Salt Lake follows a significant year of investments in the lake, including a private-public pledge to raise $200 million<\/a> toward restoration efforts. <\/p>\n

A philanthropic coalition launched in 2025 called Great Salt Lake Rising<\/a>, pledged<\/a> to raise an additional $100 million for Great Salt Lake conservation. <\/p>\n

Cox said although current numbers \u201cdon\u2019t look big,\u201d efforts toward restoring the Great Salt Lake are ongoing, and major changes should be expected in the coming months. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s some things I can\u2019t share right now,\u201d Cox told the audiences. \u201cWe are in the middle of a legislative session, and things are moving. But I\u2019m just telling you, over the next six months, you\u2019re going to see some really big investments \u2014 some of them coming from the state, some of them coming from other places \u2014 that will just dwarf anything you\u2019ve seen in the past.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"\"Water levels at the Great Salt Lake are very low in Magna on Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With one foot already out the door, the 45th and final Sundance Film Festival in Park City cast…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432621,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52],"tags":[88,206,5817,8793],"class_list":{"0":"post-432620","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-news-division","11":"tag-news-feed-national"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432620","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432620\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432621"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}