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Tearful Jolie gets honorary award from Sarajevo festival (Reuters)

SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie was close to tears as she received a special award during an unannounced visit to Sarajevo's film festival on Saturday with partner Brad Pitt.

"I will start crying if you don't stop," Oscar-awarded Jolie told the audience who gave her a standing ovation at the city's National Theater.

Jolie chose Bosnia's 1992-95 war as the setting for her first film as a director. "In the Land of Blood and Honey" is due to be released in December.

She has also visited Bosnia as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N.'s refugee agency UNHCR and funded the construction of several houses for returnees in eastern Bosnia.

Festival director Mirsad Purivatra presented Jolie with a heart-shaped award when she appeared at the closing ceremony.

"Tonight we are giving the honorary Heart of Sarajevo to a great artist, not only for the great impact she has in the world of cinema but also for persisting and her active engagement in the complexities of the real world we live in," Purivatra said.

Jolie, dressed in a long peach dress, stood on stage with eyes full of tears waiting for the clapping to die down.

"I told Brad in the car I was afraid I was going to cry," she said, her voice breaking.

Jolie's film tells the story of a love affair between a Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) woman and a Serb, who were on opposite warring sides during the conflict.

She planned to shoot parts of the film in Sarajevo and engaged a local crew. But she had to move to Budapest after some female victims of sexual violence objected to details in the plot and Bosnian authorities canceled a filming permit.

"I am so honored to be here at this festival," Jolie said after receiving the award. "There is no greater example of the strengths of the artists and the festival that began during the war and grew stronger every year."

The Sarajevo film festival was launched toward the end of the Bosnian capital's 43-month siege by Bosnian Serb forces.

Jolie presented Austrian actor Thomas Schubert with the award for best actor for his role in the film "Atmen," directed by Karl Markovics.

"Atmen," the story of a young offender searching for his mother, was also named best film in the festival.

Romanian actress Ada Condeescu won the prize for best actress for her role in the film "Loverboy," a drama about sex trafficking.

(Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Yahoo! News

Jolie, Pitt at Sarajevo festival closing ceremony (AFP)

SARAJEVO (AFP) – Hollywood stars Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, in a surprise visit to Bosnia, on Saturday attended the closing ceremony of the Sarajevo Film Festival at which the actress received an honorary award.

Jolie was given the "Honorary Heart of Sarajevo" award not "only because of her exceptional career in the movie world, but also due to her exceptional engagement in the real world," the festival's director Mirsad Purivatra said at the ceremony.

Purivatra referred to Jolie's activities to help Bosnia's refugees, forced to leave their homes during the bloody 1992-1995 conflict that left 100,000 people dead and almost half of a four-million prewar population displaced.

Jolie, visibly moved by a standing ovation from the audience in the national theatre, broke down in tears as she thanked the organisers stressing she was honoured by being at the festival that was born during Bosnia's war.

"I told Brad in the car I was afraid I was going to cry," the 36-year-old actress, wearing a long peach dress, said.

"It is so wonderful to be here ... we are very honoured to be invited to this festival," Jolie told journalists on the red carpet before entering the theatre in downtown Sarajevo.

"We will be back to the kids tonight, but we will be back" to Sarajevo, she replied when asked how long they were planning to stay in the Bosnian capital.

Hundreds of Sarajevans gathered in the square in front of the theatre and cheered the two actors. The smiling couple posed for photographers and signed autographs for fans.

At one point Jolie approached the crowd to greet a baby being carried by a man.

Organisers of the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival said earlier in a statement that Jolie was their special guest, although the visit was kept secret until the very last moment.

Jolie visited Bosnia twice in 2010 as a UNHCR good will ambassador, meeting some of the refugees.

Last year Jolie filmed her directorial debut, a love story between a Muslim woman and a Serb man set against the background of Bosnia's inter-ethnic war.

"The Land of Blood and Honey" caused controversy in Bosnia when local media speculated that the film was the story of a Muslim rape victim who falls in love with her Serb attacker. The rumours prompted angry reactions from some victims' organisations.

However, Jolie asked the victims to be patient until they see the movie. According to the synopsis, the movie is a wartime love story between a Serb guard in a prison camp and a Muslim detainee, his former girlfriend.

At the SFF closing ceremony the "Heart of Sarajevo" best movie award was given to "Breathing," directorial debut of Austria's actor Karl Markovics.

Thomas Schubert who plays in "Breathing," a drama about a young parolee, received the best actor award while Romania's Ada Condeescu was proclaimed the best actress for her role in "Loverboy."

Born as an act of resistance when the Bosnian capital was under siege during the 1992-1995 war, the Sarajevo Film Festival has become a cutting-edge event where young European talent is revealed.

Besides the official competition for the award for the best movie, 200 films, long and short, were screened at the July 22-30 festival, which has grown to be one of the largest in Europe.

Yahoo! News

Angelina Jolie in Bosnia for film festival (AP)

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina – Angelina Jolie attended the closing ceremony of the eight-day Sarajevo Film Festival in Bosnia's capital Saturday and organizers presented her with a special award for bringing attention to refugees from the country's 1992-95 war.

The award, called "The Heart of Sarajevo," was handed to Jolie by festival director, Miro Purivatra, who said it was being given to her not only for her great impact in the movie industry, but also "for persisting in her active engagement in the complexities in the real world we live in."

Jolie visited Bosnia several times last year as UNHCR ambassador and drew attention to the plight of 117,000 people who haven't able to return to their homes even though the Bosnia war ended 16 years ago. Accompanied by Brad Pitt, she visited several refugee camps. The visit resulted in a U.S. government donation that provided housing for the last 15 people living in one of the rundown facilities.

"I told Brad in the car I was afraid I was going to cry," she said with tears in her eyes as the audience gave her a standing ovation at the Sarajevo National Theater.

Jolie said she experienced the "warmth and hospitality" of the city during her visits and was honored to receive the award — a silver heart she took out of the box and pressed against her chest.

"There is no greater example of the strength of artists than a festival that begun during the war and grows stronger every year. I find it remarkable," she said.

Jolie and Pitt later watched a film about refugees by Oscar-winning Bosnian director Danis Tanovic.

The Sarajevo Film Festival started in 1994 in the besieged city, as its founders tried to offer citizens some sense of normal life. Residents braved mortar shells raining on the city to gather in a downtown basement and watch Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction," sometimes unsure whether the sounds of shooting came from the soundtrack or battles outside.

The next year, filmmakers shipped boxes of videotapes to Sarajevo along with food deliveries. Now, thousands from the region flock to Sarajevo every year to spend several days watching movies in more than 10 locations, and nights partying at concerts and other after-screening events.

Last year, Jolie shot some of the scenes of her first movie as director — a love story between a Serb man and Bosnian Muslim woman who fall in love and get separated during the war — in Bosnia. The film, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," will be released in December and casts local actors.

"In my career, I have never worked with such disciplined and talented artists," she said.

The project was overshadowed for a while by rumors that her movie featured a rape victim who falls in love with her assailant. This angered The Association of Women Victims of War, made of Bosnian wartime rape victims. They protested the production, claiming they were insulted by such a story line.

Mass rape was a taboo topic in the immediate aftermath of the country's 1992-95 war between Serb and Bosnian Muslim forces, but since then victims have formed a group to campaign for their rights, which has become one of the country's most powerful lobbies.

Jolie's filming permit was even briefly withdrawn but given back when her producers proved the rumor was not true and the entire Bosnian art community voiced support for her.

This year's festival hosted among others German director Wim Wenders and actress Charlotte Rampling. Over eight days, about 100,000 viewers watched over 200 films from dozens of countries.

Promoted in part by the festival, Bosnia is experiencing a film boom, despite its poverty. The country's filmmakers have won prestigious awards, including a foreign-film Oscar for Danis Tanovic's "No Man's Land" in 2002 and the Berlin Film Festival's Golden Bear for Jasmila Zbanic's "Grbavica" in 2006.

The festival has hosted stars such as Kevin Spacey, Morgan Freeman, Michael Moore, Daniel Craig and Mickey Rourke.

Yahoo! News

Tearful Jolie gets Sarajevo film festival award (Reuters)

SARAJEVO (Reuters) – Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie was close to tears as she received a special award during an unannounced visit to Sarajevo's film festival Saturday with partner Brad Pitt.