Thousands Attend Jolie Premiere In Sarajevo

Angelina Jolie has insisted her film about the Bosnian war, In the Land of Blood and Honey, is not anti-Serb and suggested that Serbian hostility towards it shows the region remains divided.

At a news conference before the film's Sarajevo premiere on Tuesday night, Jolie said the topic was very difficult and sensitive but she was glad she had made a film about the war.

Jolie directed the film but said the actors, who came mainly from Bosnia and other parts of the Balkans, helped her a great deal with the project. The most difficult issue for them was finding a balance between the light and dark sides of each character.

“I learned so much about this region,” Jolie said, adding she had learned most from war victims themselves as well as numerous documentaries and books.

She criticised the mainly negative response to the film from Serbian media. She also said she would like to go to Belgrade but the time was not yet right, even though the Serbian premiere is scheduled for February 23.

“There is so much hostility in the press,” Jolie said. “There is so much hostility and aggression where I don't know if they are able to see the film clearly at this time.”

The film was screened for few days in Sarajevo last December but the city's official premiere took place on Tuesday night at the at the Juan Antonio Samaranch Olympic Hall before an audience of some five thousand.

Many leading members of the cast were present for both the news conference and the premiere, including Goran Kostic, Zana Marjanovic, Rade Serbedzija, Vanesa Glodjo, Alma Terzic, Boris Ler and Fedja Stukan.

With tears in her eyes, Jolie thanked the Sarajevo audience and said their support meant a great deal to her and her team.

Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt signed many autographs and posed for photographs with fans on the red carpet before the premiere, despite cold  temperatures on Tuesday night.