A taut 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). Emir believes he’s located the notorious and previously presumed dead paramilitary commander Ivan Novak (Slobodan Beštic of A Serbian Film (in)fame), 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.

In this gripping and stylish procedural drama shot in Serbia (by Serbian based Australian cinematographer Marc Windon) and post-produced in Sydney (by Oscar nominated editor Mark Warner (Driving Miss Daisy, The Devil’s Advocate), Australian writer/director Alastair Newton Brown perfectly captures the concept of human compassion, and the great lengths one will take to achieve true justice.

As the post-screening Q&A host Tony Jones noted how authentic some of the performances were, acknowledging the seasoned Serbian cast in the film, and more pointedly, the story’s profound parallels with the current situations in Palestine and Israel, and Ukraine and Russia.

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