If a ticking nuclear bomb is threatening to destroy your city and the only way to defuse it is to band together as a community, setting aside personal and professional differences for the greater good, would you do it? This is the moral question posed by Abby Ellis’ thrilling, terrifying documentary The Lake, which follows the shockingly few individuals who care enough about the cause to try saving Utah’s vanishing Great Salt Lake. As the largest saline, closed-basin lake in North America, if it were to dry up, it would mean the near-instant spread of arsenic and other carcinogens that, with a few gusts of wind, could harm the 2.5 million people living downwind. Utah is the second-driest state in the country, but also has the second-highest water use per capita, with 80% of the lake’s decline caused by local human water usage. What emerges is a political battle as factions aim to safeguard their way of life, missing the bigger picture that there may not be much life to live if action isn’t taken.
Like the most exceptional, impactful environmental documentaries, this is not a film of numbers, charts, visualizations, and talking-head interviews, but one of direct human action on a micro scale. Utilizing a cinéma vérité approach embedded in the heart of the pursuit to convince those turning a blind eye, Ellis primarily follows three individuals: intrepid scientist Ben Abbott, who is on the forefront of sounding the alarm, delivering key data regarding how few years remain until catastrophic, irreversible devastation; microbiologist Bonnie Baxter, whose deep interest in the lake and its animal inhabitants brings a personal moment of reckoning; and Brian Steed, the Great Salt Lake Commissioner who has the difficult task of working with the various communities that need to find some semblance of mutual ground to lead to a solution––including farmers who feel targeted over their water usage, yet have the responsibility of providing food to their community and beyond.
As much as the environmental issue is center stage, the essence of this film is the complex navigation of human decisions at every turn. It’s staggering to witness how major, life-altering decisions for millions can come down to just a convincing presentation or two for those holding all the power. As Baxter notes in a confrontational local radio interview, she doesn’t want to make the same mistake as certain scientists working on the Manhattan Project who, after the nuclear bombs were dropped on civilians, separated themselves from the outcome of the science they were working on.
As edited with a sense of urgency by Ellis and Emelie Mahdavian—bringing a human weight to impending disaster not unlike Christopher Nolan’s Best Picture winner—room is also made for a major aspect of life for the majority of Utahns: faith. As leaders like Utah governor Spencer Cox ask for prayer to fix droughts, Abbott takes a more sensible approach: he believes human action is needed to carry out God’s plan. “We will all be accountable to God for how we used water, for how we used food, for the choices we made individually and as a group,” he notes. By focusing on the importance of the Mormon way of life, even with those leading the science, Ellis creates a full-bodied portrait of belief melding with action.
As Abbott pleads to a scientist colleague early on, “Why I am doing this? I’m supposed to be taking samples and analyzing data. Where are our leaders?” While The Lake is effective in illuminating a vital issue with astounding, haunting cinematography from Ellis and DP Alex Takats, the film also functions as a sobering example of failed political leadership on a larger scale. It’s nothing new that those who can sway public opinion and unlock funds which might lead to necessary change are often afraid to rock the boat that is their constituency, but Ellis knows the power of being reminded. In how many other cities across the world does the fate of millions rest on just a few individuals taking charge? The Lake is not only a wake-up call to leaders, but communities across the world that change can start amongst the smallest of groups.
The Lake premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.