Nathan Clark Sapsford in Here Be Dragons.

Alastair Newton Brown’s gripping debut Here Be Dragons will premiere on October 18 at Sydney’s Cremorne Orpheum with a very special Q&A event moderated by former Q&A host and media icon Tony Jones. 

A taut, exhilarating drama, 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).

Emir believes 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. 

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In this gripping and stylish procedural drama shot in Serbia and post-produced in Australia, writer/director Alastair Newton Brown perfectly captures the concept of human compassion, and the great lengths one will take to achieve true justice. 

“Stanley Kubrick was once asked if life was worth living,” says Alastair Newton Brown. “His reply was unsurprisingly long and passionate, but the most poignant part of his response was the last sentence: ‘However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light’.” 

Finding hope in amongst the violence and chaos, Here Be Dragons is a brave film announcing an exciting new filmmaking talent.  

Politically astute and emotionally complex, Here Be Dragons is all set to become Australia’s next talking-point film…

Here Be Dragons will premiere at Sydney’s Cremorne Orpheum on October 18, and will be followed by a Q&A session with Tony Jones, with further dates and venues to be announced. Details here.