Black Butterflies: The cost of going green

Mikael and Sara Elvira, a father and daughter from the Sami community in Scandinavia, are fighting against what they believe is Sweden’s exploitation of their land and resources.

The Swedish government is planning to increase mining in their area, to extract the metals needed to move to renewable power sources and a more sustainable economy. But the Sami say natural resources should only be used when necessary because without them, humans will cease to exist.

This film explores how Mikael, Sara Elvira and the Sami attempt to take on British mining company Beowulf Mining, whose proposed mine, they say, will break up important grazing ground for the community’s reindeer and destroy local land, jeopardising their way of life.

We see how the community, along with climate activists, has protested against the mine for nearly a decade and how they vow to continue to fight to protect this remote corner of Sweden from the exploits of big corporations.