Nathan Clark Sapsford in Here Be Dragons.

Adding to its impressive slate of upcoming films, Sydney-based distributor Screen Inc. has picked up the Australian and New Zealand rights to Alastair Newton Brown’s gripping debut, Here Be Dragons.

“We’re so excited about acquiring the Australian and New Zealand distribution rights to Here Be Dragons,” says Screen Inc. managing director Dov Kornits, fresh off the cinema release of ballet themed coming of age drama The Red Shoes: Next Step and the recent announcement about the acquisition of Australian urban drama Streets of Colour.

“Here Be Dragons is a bold, highly original feature that marks the emergence of an exciting new Australian voice in Alastair Newton Brown, who makes his writing and directing debut with this cogent and timely work. We can’t wait to get this film in front of Australian and New Zealand audiences.”

A taut, exhilarating and topical procedural, Here Be Dragons begins with the conclusion of The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), as David Locke (Nathan Clark Sapsford), a former British soldier turned UN war crimes investigator, faces the prospect of an early retirement. But David is approached by a ghost from his past: a victim of the Yugoslav wars named Emir Ibrahimovic (Svetislav “Bule” Goncic).

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Emir believes that he’s located the notorious and previously presumed dead paramilitary commander Ivan Novak (Slobodan Beštic), living in plain sight in Belgrade, Serbia. Despite the disapproval of his superiors, David goes to Belgrade on a solo mission funded by Emir, in order to hunt, capture, and bring to justice the man who has caused so much pain in the world. As David ingratiates himself with Novak’s estranged wife and son, he starts to question the morality of his mission and the intentions of his sponsor.

Shot in Serbia and post-produced in Australia, Australian writer/director Alastair Newton Brown perfectly captures the concept of human compassion, and the great lengths one will take to achieve true justice.

“Here Be Dragons is a film about the importance of nuance, balance and forgiveness at a time when many issues are often sold to us as being ‘us vs them’ or ‘black and white’,” says Alastair Newton Brown. “It was produced with much love by a talented team of multicultural professionals across three countries, and we are delighted to be working with an equally committed and discerning team at Screen Inc. to bring this story to audiences across Australia and New Zealand.”