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Hank Leukart
Product Manager by day. Filmmaker by night.
Hank Leukart

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Bluesky →

my fyp just won't be the same without sydney towle's spirit, empathy, and grit. the big green lost a real one.

2 days AGOBluesky →

My film Echoes of the Escalante is officially headed to the Chagrin Documentary Film Festival! Screening dates are Oct 9 and 10. See you in Ohio!

39 days AGOBluesky →

the moment i get my delorean, i'll travel to 2011 montreal because of mile end kicks

53 days AGOBluesky →

but that’s not how domino’s is spelled

55 days AGOBluesky →

proof that great car ads can actually work: no one buys green cars except for almost every rivian owner

63 days AGOBluesky →

i just realized playing with a baby is just ucb because you just find the game and you’re good to go

More Info
Synopsis

We originally set out on a 65-mile, five-day packrafting trip down the Escalante River simply to experience and film one of Utah’s most incredible wilderness areas. But the deeper we got into the canyons, the harder it was to ignore the political reality looming over them.

Following President Trump’s July 2026 executive order that slashed Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears to less than 10% of their original size, the canyons we paddled through are now ground zero in a bitter fight between conservation and extraction. The landscape captured in our footage is currently the subject of a massive legal battle led by Native American tribes and environmental groups — one that will ultimately test whether the Antiquities Act can still protect our public lands.

Upcoming Festival Screenings

Chagrin Documentary Film Festival: Friday, October 9, 2026 at 11:00am at Methodist Church, 20 S. Franklin St., Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Chagrin Documentary Film Festival: Saturday, October 10, 2026 at 2:00pm in Triangle Park, Chagrin Falls, Ohio

Director's Statement

I wanted to pull audiences down the Escalante River with us so they could feel exactly what’s at stake in the ongoing battle over US public lands. The film is an honest tribute to the Escalante, but it’s also a wake-up call, asking us to decide what we truly value and what we're willing to do to protect it.

Stills

From the Field

04 frames
A last look before the first step, standing on the canyon rim.
A last look before the first step, standing on the canyon rim.01
Dusk settles into the canyon, sandstone walls holding the last warmth of day.
Dusk settles into the canyon, sandstone walls holding the last warmth of day.02
Sleeping pads, stove hiss, and a desert dinner earned.
Sleeping pads, stove hiss, and a desert dinner earned.03
A quiet conference in the current.
A quiet conference in the current.04
Hank Leukart
About the Director

Hank Leukart

Hank Leukart is a filmmaker passionate about sharing compelling, immersive stories, especially well-versed in launching film projects combining travel to unusual locales with socially-conscious issues like environmental conservation, human rights, and education. He’s worked as a producer on many iconic documentary television shows, including World’s Toughest Race (Amazon Prime); The Amazing Race, Big Brother, and The American Baking Competition (CBS); and Expedition Impossible (ABC). His first feature documentary, “The Mars Academy” — about NASA scientists helping underserved kids explore Mars with a real spacecraft — premiered at the Borrego Springs Film Festival. His second feature, "The John Muir," premiered at the Breckinridge Film Festival. His short films “Bears Ears” and “Rattlesnake to Westwater" won awards at the Lookout Wild, Maine Outdoor, and Waterwalker Film Festivals.