Library to Screen Documentary “Sallie’s Ashes”

Sallie’s Ashes,” a documentary about the late Sallie Smith’s passion about Mobile Bay and the safe removal of a toxic coal ash pond, will be screened at Moon Lake Library at 2 p.m. on September 13. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and was a nominee for the Critics Choice Documentary Awards 2025. Earlier this year, it won the prestigious

Eric Moe Award for Best Short on Sustainability at the DC Environmental Film Festival.

Following the screening at the library, there will be discussion with members of the Coal Ash Action Group (CAAG), including Savan Wilson and Diane Thomas, who are featured in the film.

CAAG, founded in 2022 by the late Smith, continues to carry forward her vision: the safe removal of this massive toxic coal ash pond threatening the Mobile River; Mobile Bay; and the treasured Tensaw Delta, known as “America’s Amazon.” At age 80, while facing terminal cancer, Smith rallied fellow Alabama grandmothers to take on one of the state’s most urgent environmental battles. Together, they formed CAAG to demand accountability from Alabama Power’s Plant Barry, where 21 million tons of coal ash — laden with carcinogens, neurotoxins, and other hazardous pollutants — sit in an unlined pond just 20 miles upstream from Mobile Bay.

Over the past three years, CAAG has:

• Delivered presentations to civic and environmental groups across Alabama
• Hosted community information tents at festivals and public events
• Participated in Environmental Protection Agency hearings
• Built a grassroots base of more than 1,500 petition signers and subscribers to their Move the Ash updates

Their work has drawn national attention. An interview with Alabama Public Radio’s Cori Yonge was picked up by National Public Radio, catching the ear of an Oscar- and Emmy-winning producer. That connection led to the creation of “Sallie’s Ashes,” a moving 40-minute documentary about Smith’s final months, in which she transformed personal struggle into a campaign for environmental justice. Although she passed away on October 27, 2023, her spirit continues to inspire.

The screening is free and open to the public. Additional parking is available in the grassy area beside the library, as well as in the Moon Lake Campus parking lot off East River Road.

Anne McLeod is the librarian at Moon Lake Library.