The Lake

United States202588 minEnglish

US Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change

An environmental nuclear bomb looms in Utah. Two intrepid scientists and a political insider race the clock to save their home from unprecedented catastrophe.

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US Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change

An environmental nuclear bomb looms in Utah. Two intrepid scientists and a political insider race the clock to save their home from unprecedented catastrophe.

Urgency emanates from this sober record that local Utah filmmaker Abby Ellis logs in human history — a chapter of monumental ecological and social consequence unfolding in our shared home. Intertwining the inextricable fates of the Great Salt Lake and the millions of people who live, work, and travel surrounding it, Ellis achieves an existential scope that is both terrifying and motivating, wrought with divinity and doom. Balancing beautifully the perspectives, burdens, contributions, and challenges of Utah’s top political leaders, agricultural providers, and scientific thinkers, The Lake captures the intricate complexity that binds these communities together. In tackling this epic tale about the power and responsibility of knowledge and how to disseminate it, Ellis is a responsible, constructive steward of her lineage both as a Utahn and an environmental filmmaker. — AC

U.S. Documentary CompetitionAll FeaturesEnvironmental StoriesScience & TechnologyNonfictionClosed CaptionOpen CaptionU.S. Only- less

Credits

Director(s)
Abby Ellis
Producer
Fletcher Keyes
Abby Ellis
Executive Producers
Leonardo DiCaprio
Jennifer Davisson
Phillip Watson
Jessica Harrop
Caitlin Mae Burke
Chai Vasarhelyi
Anna Barnes
Jimmy Chin
Geralyn Dreyfous
Heather Kahlert
Rachel Crane
Production Company
Sandbox Films
Ibis Films
In Association with
Little Monster Films
Cranium Productions
Editor
Abby Ellis
Emelie Mahdavian
Director of Photography
Alex Takats
Cinematographer
Abby Ellis
Composer
Natalia Tsupryk
Co-Executive Producers
Plot Shift Media
Emelie Mahdavian

Company
Sanbox Films
Contact
Patrick Hurley
patrick@sandboxfilms.org

Meet the Artist

Abby Ellis

Abby Ellis is a Peabody- and Emmy-nominated director and journalist whose films explore the moments and institutions that shape our lives. Her work blends careful reporting with a strong sense of humanity, bringing the real stakes of complicated stories into sharp, relatable focus.

Soul Patrol

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