Angelina Jolie Honoured At SFF

The star, who was in Sarajevo with partner Brad Pitt, was praised by film festival director Mirsad Purivatra for her “active engagement in the complexities of the real world we live in” as she received the award.

In an emotional address, Jolie praised the warmth and hospitality of locals she had met during her visits to Bosnia and Herzegovina with the UN and highlighted the talents of those at the festival.

“I will start crying if you don’t stop,” she told audience members at Sarajevo’s National Theatre. “I told Brad in the car I was afraid I was going to cry.”

“There is no greater example of the strengths of the artists and the festival that began during the war and grew stronger every year,” she added.

Her directorial debut, “In the Land of Blood and Honey”, due for release this December, is set during Bosnia's 1992 to 1995 war. It stars Bosnian actress Zana Marjanovic and tells the story of a love affair between a Bosnian Muslim woman and a Serb, on opposite sides of the conflict.

Oscar winning Bosnian film director Danis Tanovic was also present at the closing ceremony for the world premier of his  short film “Baggage”. The film screened at Sarajevo’s Open Air Cinema and was attended by 3,000 audience members.

It charts the lives of people searching for loved ones who went missing during the last war in Bosnia.

Thomas Schubert, who starred in the Austrian film “Breathing”, was awarded the title of Best Actor for his performance in the film and Romanian actress Ada Condeescu won Best Actress for her role in the film “Loverboy”, directed by Catalin Mitulescu.

The Heart of Sarajevo Award for Best Short Film and a prize of €3,000 was given to
Dalibor Matanic for the Croatian film “Mezanin” and special jury mentions also went to the Bulgarian –German short film “Take Two” by Nadejda Koseva and “Dove sei, amor mio” by Croatian director Veljko Popovic.

The Human Rights Award and €3,000 were given to Imre Azem for the Turkish – German film “Eekumenopolis: City without limits”.

The festival, which is in its 17th year, began as an act of resistance in 1995 with residents braving mortar shells to gather in a basement to watch Quentin Tarantino's “Pulp Fiction”.

More than 220 films from 44 countries were shown at the festival this year.