In Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia, a teenage boy caught between Nazis, Royalists and Communist Partisans must survive treachery, bloodshed and impossible choices. Forced into exile by a brutal ideological war between communists and royalists, betrayed by shifting Allied loyalties, he becomes part of a forgotten exodus of soldiers searching for a place to call home.
Coming of AgeHistoricalTrue StoryWar/MilitaryTime Period: 20th CenturyStory Location: EuropeTarget Audience: Adult
What makes a young boy lie about his age to fight in a war?
In the shadow of World War II’s turmoil, A Safe Haven is the untold story of the fate of the Royalist Serbian army forced to flee from the communists or face certain death. It charts the journey of Dragan, a spirited adolescent from a rural village in Yugoslavia, across the chaos of post-war Europe, culminating in a new life in England.
April 1941. As German bombs rain down on Belgrade, Dragan is walking home from the village church with his cousin, joking and messing around. Blissfully unaware of the chaos about to descend on their country. Dragan idolises his cousin, already a cadet in the Royal Yugoslav Army, but is frustrated that while he’s old enough to learn a trade, he’s too young to enlist.
As Nazi tanks roll through their village, Dragan learns there are other ways to fight by helping the resistance. His cousin leaves the army to join resistance fighters engaged in guerrilla warfare. Unable to maintain law and order, members of the Yugoslav Army, renamed the Royal Serbian Christian Army, are released from prison by the German occupying force to police the local population. Acting as peacekeepers, they use misdirection and subterfuge to help those in the resistance evade capture. Despite this, Dragan’s cousin is betrayed to the Germans by the communists. Witnessing his execution, Dragan is heartbroken, but determined to get revenge, he lies about his age to join the Royalist Army. Unbreakable bonds with his comrades are forged in the face of the growing rift between royalists and communists tearing the country apart. As the Germans retreat from Yugoslavia, the communists become their greatest threat, with the royalists sustaining heavy fire in battles to gain control of the country.
Forced to escape to Italy, the Royalist Army reached out to the British for help, only to find false promises turn to betrayal and incredible hardship. Despite the challenges of being stateless in various internment camps, Dragan remains resilient and determined to keep his promise to return home, even after building a new life in England. Years later, he fulfils that promise. Returning to his childhood home with a family of his own, he’s finally reunited with his loved ones.
Based on a true story, A Safe Haven is a sweeping tale of courage, sacrifice and the enduring power of the human spirit amidst the ravages of war in pursuit of a place to call home.
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2025 - Script Summit Screenplay
Quarter Finalist
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