Documentary screening: Overburden | Tensions between extraction and conservation 

Doc Screening: Overburden | Tensions between extraction and conservation 

How do communities protect biodiversity, livelihoods, and local rights in landscapes shaped by resource extraction? Join us for a screening of the award-winning documentary Overburden, followed by a conversation with Shadrach Kerwillain, one of the film’s central protagonists, and environmental historian Iva Peša.

Set in the mist-covered Nimba Mountains on the border of Liberia and Guinea, Overburden follows rangers, scientists, and community leaders working to protect one of West Africa’s most remarkable ecosystems. As local communities seek to rebuild and sustain both nature and livelihoods in a landscape marked by decades of mining, they face new pressures from plans for expanded resource extraction presented as “green” development. The film offers an intimate and visually stunning portrait of the complex relationships between conservation, industry, and local communities.

Following the screening, Shadrach Kerwillain, a conservation practitioner, researcher, and one of the film’s main characters, will join us on stage to share his experiences working on the front lines of conservation in Liberia. He will be joined by Iva Peša, whose research examines the histories and contemporary realities of mining, resource extraction, and environmental change in Africa.

Together, they will explore questions raised by the film: What does sustainable development mean in resource-rich regions? How can conservation and local livelihoods be balanced? And who gets to decide the future of landscapes that are simultaneously sites of biodiversity, community life, and economic interest?

The discussion will be followed by an opportunity for audience questions.

This event is free to attend and open to anyone interested in environmental justice, conservation, African history, mining, sustainability, and documentary film.