About the Film
The Sundance Film Festival Local Lens is a showcase of a curated selection of films from the 2026 Sundance Film Festival before they are released. Local Lens is part of Sundance Institute’s rich history as a nonprofit rooted in Utah that supports engaging new stories and groundbreaking independent artists by bringing audiences together. Presented in partnership with Park City Film.
The Local Lens film program and ticketing page can be accessed here.
THE LAKE, director Abby Ellis, Not Rated, 88min – Sunday, July 19th at 1pm
An environmental nuclear bomb looms in Utah. Two intrepid scientists and a political insider race the clock to save their home from unprecedented catastrophe.
Director Abby Ellis in person for a film introduction and post-film Q&A.
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.
THEYDREAM, director William D. Caballero, Not Rated, 86min – Sunday, July 19th at 4pm
After 20 years of chronicling his Puerto Rican family, a director and his mother face devastating losses. Through tears and laughter, they craft animations that bring their loved ones back to life, discovering that every act of creation is also an act of letting go.
Film introduction and post-film Q&A with director William Caballero in person.
William David Caballero is a Los Angeles–based queer Puerto Rican American filmmaker, writer, animator, Guggenheim fellow, and Creative Capital awardee. His animated documentary shorts about his family have screened at the Sundance Film Festival and the Museum of Modern Art and won a Webby for Best Art Direction.
UNION COUNTY, director Adam Meeks, Not Rated, 97min – Sunday, July 19th at 7pm
Assigned to a county-mandated drug court program, Cody Parsons embarks on the tenuous journey toward recovery amid the opioid epidemic in rural Ohio.
Film introduction and post-film Q&A with director Adam Meeks in person.
Adam Meeks is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker. His short film Union County premiered at the 70th Berlinale and screened at festivals worldwide. He is a 2023 Film Independent Screenwriting Lab fellow, a 2021 Yaddo artist in residence, and a graduate of NYU Tisch. Union County (2025) is his first feature film.
