BOONE—Filmmaker Chad Stevens will screen his award-winning documentary “Overburden” Feb. 16 at Appalachian State University. The presentation is part of the Sustainability Film Series on campus. The film will be shown at 7 p.m. in I.G. Greer Theater. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.

“Overburden” is a powerful new film that shows human stories from coal country – including stunning events that will either divide or unify a community, its coal workers and their families.

The film’s trailer is online at http://overburdendocumentary.com/trailer.

Stevens worked on the project for more than 10 years. The story, unfolding over eight years, follows a fiery, pro-coal right-winger and a tenacious, environmentalist grandmother as they join forces to take on the most dangerous coal company in America. According to The Guardian, the coal industry is in a “terminal decline,” leaving these communities facing an uncertain and dire future.

“Overburden” is the first film of its kind to document the end of the age of coal and celebrate the heroes who are standing up to rebuild their fractured communities.

Bill McKibben, author of “The End of Nature,” called the film “A remarkable document, powerful testimony to the absurd destruction that coal has brought to the mountains of Appalachia, and testimony also to the remarkable women and men who have done their best to deal with an almost impossible trauma.”

“Overburden” premiered at Full Frame Film Festival. The film received the Special Jury Price for Documentary at the Amsterdam Film Festival and a jury award from the Banff Mountain Film Festival.

Stevens is an Emmy-winning filmmaker, editor, journalist and assistant professor of visual communications at UNC Chapel Hill. Previously, he was a producer and editor at MediaStorm, where his work focused on a range of topics from PTSD to the aftermath of genocide in Rwanda.

Stevens, along with Deep Gap resident Rory McIlmoil, who appears in the film, will be available for questions and answers after the screening.

The Sustainability Film Series is sponsored by the Office of Sustainability and Department of Geology at Appalachian. University Documentary Film Services is a co-sponsor of this event.

For more information, contact Tom Hansell at hansellts@appstate.edu or Brian Zimmer at zimmerbw@appstate.edu.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.

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