In the Land of Blood and Honey is an upcoming film depicting a love story set against the background of the Bosnian War. It is also the first feature film and directorial debut of actress Angelina Jolie and stars Zana Marjanović, Goran Kostić, and Rade Šerbedžija. The film is scheduled to be released in the United States on December 23, 2011
The film is set in Sarajevo and surrounding areas before and during the Bosnian War. Danijel (Goran Kostić), a soldier fighting for the Bosnian Serbs, re-encounters Ajla (Zana Marjanović), a Bosnian Muslim woman he was involved with before the war, and who is now a captive in the camp he oversees. Their once promising connection has become ambiguous as their motives have been changed by the conflict.
Plot Summary: Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, "In the Land of Blood and Honey" tells the story of Danijel (Goran Kostić) and Ajla (Zana Marjanović), two people from different sides of a brutal ethnic conflict. Danijel, a soldier fighting for the Serbs, and Ajla, a Bosnian held captive in the camp he oversees, knew each other before the war, and could have found love with each other. But as the armed conflict takes hold of their lives, their relationship grows darker, their motives and connection to one another ambiguous, their allegiances uncertain. "In the Land of Blood and Honey" portrays the incredible emotional, moral and physical toll that the war exerts both on individuals and people as a whole, and the terrible consequences that stem from the lack of political will to intervene in a society stricken with conflict.
In July 2010 with the film already in pre-production, the producers approached the Serbian tycoon and media magnate Željko Mitrović over the usage of the sounds stages and studio sets owned by his Pink International Company's subsidiary Pink Films International in Šimanovci. However, he refused to do business with them, releasing a press statement: "Despite an opportunity to work with one of the most popular and most sought after actresses on the planet, which would've opened many doors in the movie business for our company, I've decided not to participate in this film in any way. I've held great affection and admiration for Angelina Jolie both as a person and as an artist, but unfortunately she's full of prejudice against the Serbs. I do not wish to be part of something that for the umpteenth time presents the Serbs as eternal bad guys
The film was shot in Budapest and Esztergom during October and November 2010. The cast were entirely local actors from the region, many who lived through the war. Jolie said she spoke with the cast about their experiences during the war and tried to incorporate them into the film. The film was also shot in two versions – one in English, the other in the local language.
Jolie explained the reason she wrote and directed the film was to rekindle attention for the survivors of a war that took place in recent history. In an interview with Christiane Amanpour Jolie said she felt a responsibility to learn about the conflict in great detail, adding, "This was, you know, the worst genocide since World War II in Europe ... What were we all doing? And did we do enough? And why do we not speak about this enough?"
During the shooting of the film, it was falsely reported that the story was about a Bosnian woman falling in love with her Serbian rapist, prompting protests from the Bosnian Women Victims of War association and the revocation of the filming permit. Jolie denied the rumors and presented the script to Bosnia's ministry of culture, which then quickly reinstated the permit
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