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An Environmental Horror Story About Great Salt Lake

Kristen Murphy
/
The Great Salt Lake Collaborative

In a new documentary premiering at Sundance, local filmmaker Abby Ellis follows two scientists and a government official fighting to stave off environmental disaster and save Great Salt Lake.

While the lake is certainly a character in Ellis’ film, for her, the story is really about three people whose lives, she says, are inseparable from the lake’s fate.

As microbiologist Bonnie Baxter, environmental ecologist Ben Abbot and Great Salt Lake Commissioner Brian Steed each come to realize, the lives and livelihoods of millions are tied to the lake. In their own ways, Baxter, Abbot and Steed are working to save their home from disaster, which leads to the question at the heart of Ellis’ film: How far would you go if you faced a similar threat? Ellis joins us to talk about her film. It’s called “The Lake.”

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Abby Ellis | She directed the documentary “The Lake.” It premieres at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22nd, 2026. You can get more information here.

Original Airdate: 01/22/26

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