Leonardo DiCaprio, Appian Way Principals Board Urgent Documentary ‘The Lake’ Ahead Of Film’s Sundance World Premiere

EXCLUSIVE: Appian Way principals Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Davisson, and Phillip Watson have signed on to executive produce The Lake ahead of the documentary’s world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.

The film directed by Abby Ellis (Flint’s Deadly Water) investigates “a looming environmental nuclear bomb” in the festival’s backyard: “Beneath the drying lakebed of Great Salt Lake lies a toxic reservoir of heavy metals – arsenic, lead, mercury, and more – poised to become airborne, endangering the millions of people living in the metropolitan region of Utah called the Wasatch Front.”

The Lake, from Sandbox Films, Ibis Films, Little Monster Films and Cranium Productions, premieres on the opening day of Sundance next Thursday, January 22. Abby Ellis and Fletcher Keyes produce the film which explores the potential catastrophe in Utah “and the bold scientists and politicians working to avoid disaster.”

“Blending the mystical and the pragmatic, The Lake pushes beyond traditional environmental storytelling,” notes a release. “This isn’t just about saving a lake—it’s about reckoning with our own complicity. The film asks: What is your role when catastrophe looms? Where do the lines get drawn—and who dares to cross them? And in the film’s most arresting moments, it asks the ultimate question: Can we save ourselves from ourselves?”

In a statement, director-producer Ellis said, “I was drawn to this story because Utah is my home, and the stakes couldn’t be higher, but it was the characters in our film who captivated me. For over three years, I’ve felt every bit of hope and dismay that comes with watching people fight to save something you love. The experience has been both frustrating and scary, but at the same time, inspiring.”

Ellis added, “What’s happening in Utah is a microcosm for so many environmental stories around the world. Having the support of Appian Way and Leo, Jennifer and Phillip will only help enhance our reach with this incredibly timely and relevant story, and we are thrilled to have them join our incredible team.”

The film will be represented at Sundance by William Morris.

“Abby’s work resonated with us instantly, and we knew immediately we needed to be a part of the journey to bring this powerful film to Sundance,” commented Davisson, Appian Way’s president of production. “It reflects the ethos of Appian Way and our desire to support important and urgent environmental stories. We hope audiences not only respond to this pivotal documentary but also look inward and work together on sustainable solutions in their own communities.”

In addition to Thursday’s world premiere, The Lake will screen on Jan. 23 in Salt Lake City, and on Jan. 28, 29, and Feb. 1 in Park City.

“An environmental nuclear bomb looms in Utah,” writes the Sundance festival program. “Two intrepid scientists and a political insider race the clock to save their home from unprecedented catastrophe.”

The festival continues, “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.”

Along with DiCaprio, Davisson, and Watson, the film’s executive producers include Jessica Harrop, Caitlin Mae Burke, Chai Vasarhelyi, Anna Barnes, Jimmy Chin, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Heather Kahlert, and Rachel Crane.

View this article at Deadline.