Utah dirty-soda documentary sells out Lehi premiere

A sold-out crowd packed the Megaplex Lehi at Thanksgiving Point on Wednesday, Nov. 4, for the premiere of Saints + Sodas, a documentary about Utah's obsession with dirty soda.

Provo-based Trademark Films produced the 67-minute film, which features health experts, members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, influencers and a notable couple from the Hulu series The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Jen and Zac Affleck, ABC4 reported.

The evening ran from 6:15 to 9 p.m., according to the Eventbrite listing. Guests received branded lanyards and swag bags stuffed with coupons to local businesses. A red carpet greeted arrivals before they filed into the theater.

The first rows were reserved for cast and crew. Every remaining seat was taken.

Eric Michael Robertson, creative director of Trademark Films and the film's composer, addressed the crowd before the screening. He thanked his team, his wife, the cast and crew, and the audience, then called out: "Roll the film."

Madison Pope, the film's director and editor, said the idea started when some of her team was filming a project in Texas. "Anytime someone found out that they were from Utah, they would ask is the soda thing real," Pope said, according to an earlier ABC4 report. Pope credits much of dirty soda's virality to The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, which premiered in 2024.

Pope said the culture of people drinking less coffee and less alcohol opened up a space for dirty soda to fill.

After the credits rolled, Pope joined Thirst founder Ethan Cisneros, Dr. Julie Hanks and influencer Steve Kinyon for a question-and-answer session. One audience member asked Kinyon, who said he spends around $300 a week on soda, whether he had ever tried to quit. He said he had not.

Viewer Delaney Fischer said the film held her attention throughout. Pope, asked who the intended audience was, said, "I'm not super sure. I just wanted my Utah family to be proud of me." She added that she just wanted to have fun with the project.

The film is available for purchase on Trademark Films' website for $10, according to ABC4. Pope also said the documentary has been submitted to two Utah film festivals.

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