Angelina Jolie has accepted Sarajevo’s honorary citizen at Bosnian Film Festival after the screening of her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, that deals with Bosnia’s 1992-1995 war while telling the story of love between a Bosnian Muslim woman and a Bosnian Serb man at the time of the war.

Fikret Music, the prime minister of the Sarajevo Canton, presented her the award, which was announced in April. “I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be named an honorary citizen of Sarajevo, a city so dear to my heart,” exclaimed Angelina.

She proclaimed that the experiences she gathered and the people she met while filming In the Land of Blood and Honey were remarkable. “The time I spent and the people I met in Bosnia have changed me for ever,” said Jolie.

Jolie’s directorial debut, that was first screened in Sarajevo last December, has not only fetched her varied honours but also fueled controversies. The film, that was nominated for a Golden Globe for best foreign language film earlier this year, has been condemned by some Bosnian Serbs who have wanted the film to be banned claiming the film portrays them as villains. In the Land of Blood and Honey displays scenes of rape, executions and other war crimes.

Rukija Vrckalo, a viewer exclaimed, “I am speechless, I feel sick. When grenades were exploding in the film, I felt as if the war were still going on.” However, pensioner Seid Karic appreciated the realistic film saying, “It is a lesson for future generations. Every inhabitant of Bosnia and the former Yugoslavia should see it.”

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