Here Be Dragons

Synopsis

Following his critically acclaimed ‘A Story of Children and Film,’ Mark Cousins has crafted a delightful new essay film, inviting us to join him as he researches the political and cultural landscape of Albania. ‘Here Be Dragons’, as he explains, was what cartographers used to write on maps of areas they hadn’t visited yet, in fear of what could lurk there. Invited to the festival of Albanian Films in Tirana, Cousins’ anticipation and excitement is infectious as he takes the opportunity to explore the nation’s art and cinema, finding along the way an endangered film archive and a society still recovering from a devastating dictatorship.

Director Biography

Mark Cousins is one of world cinema’s rare directors who integrates talents as a writer, broadcaster and critic into highly individualistic ‘essay’ films which have given him international status. He followed his 15-hour seminal history of the movies, The Story of Film: An Odyssey, with A Story of Children and Film, officially selected at Cannes 2013.