Founded in the wake of war, the East Nimba Nature Reserve shelters some of West Africa’s most endangered species. With exclusive, on-the-ground access, OVERBURDEN follows rangers, scientists, and forest defenders, including ranger Moses Darpey, biologist Grace Kotee Zansi, chief park warden Catherine Kuku Dolo, and community leaders Saye Thompson and Dada Konkah, who tend the land, protecting endangered species and sustaining livelihoods as a billion-dollar company falls short of promised support. They are joined by Shadrach Kerwillain, a Liberian conservation biologist and Mnqobi Mamba, a bat scientist from Eswatini, who navigate the tangled frontier where mining meets conservation and where memory, science, and power collide.

The film captures their intimate encounters with the mountain’s extraordinary inhabitants, from the only true viviparous toad found nowhere else on Earth to resilient cave-dwelling bats and adaptive chimpanzees. It tells a powerful story of resilience and transformation in a landscape shaped by industry yet alive with possibility and celebrates the power of mutual aid, showing how people and ecosystems persist, rebuild, and thrive against overwhelming odds.