Jolie, Pitt at Sarajevo festival closing ceremony
AFP
SARAJEVO- Hollywood star Angelina Jolie and her partner Brad Pitt arrived in Bosnia Saturday for a surprise visit, attending the closing ceremony of the Sarajevo Film Festival.
"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 national theatre in downtown Sarajevo where the ceremony was held.
"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.
At one point Jolie, wearing a long peach dress, approached the crowd to greet a baby being carried by a man.
Organisers of the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival said in a statement that Jolie was their special guest and was due to receive a "special award".
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 1992-1995 inter-ethnic war.
The movie 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, a UNHCR goodwill ambassador, 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.
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 "Heart of Sarajevo" award for the best movie, 200 films, long and short, were being screened at the July 22-30 festival, which has grown to be one of the largest in Europe.
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