The Cost of Growth

About the film

The Cost of Growth follows climate activists Anuna De Wever and Lena Hartog as they travel through Italy, Serbia, and Sápmi, documenting grassroots resistance to extractivism. The film connects these local struggles with broader debates on war, justice, and democracy - showing how extractive violence is a form of structural warfare on communities and ecosystems.

Through intimate encounters with grassroots movements, the film weaves together voices from affected communities and leading thinkers—such as Fati N'Zi-Hassane, Vijay Prashad, Greta Thunberg and Jason Hickel - to interrogate who truly pays for growth, how growth is defended and how we move beyond.

This is a 100 % nonprofit project: funding raised through screenings is channelled back to campaigns on democratizing the economy and to support the communities and movements featured in the film.