guardian.co.uk
Protest group writes to organisation to complain Jolie should have met them 'woman to woman' to discuss controversial film
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 30 November 2010 17.08 GMT
For first-time director Angelina Jolie, it looks like being the controversy that just won't go away. Bosnian victims of sexual violence during the Balkan conflict of the 1990s have written to the United Nations suggesting the actor and film-maker does not deserve her "goodwill ambassador" status because she ignored their concerns over a forthcoming film.
Jolie started shooting her directorial debut – a love story between a Muslim woman and a Serb man set during the country's civil war in the early 90s – in Bosnia in October. The problems began when local media reported the film featured scenes in which a Bosnian rape victim falls in love with her Serbian attacker. Jolie soon came in for criticism from Bosnia's Association of Women Victims of War after she failed to meet members to discuss the stories.
The allegations temporarily saw authorities withdrawing permission for the actor to shoot in the country, though the green light was eventually given after Gavrilo Grahovac, the Bosnian culture minister, saw a screenplay. However, the Association remains angry at what it sees as Jolie's "ignorant" attitude and has now written to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), for which Jolie is a goodwill ambassador.
"Angelina Jolie's ignorant attitude towards victims says enough about the scenario and gives us the right to continue having doubts about it," the group wrote.
"We have insisted [on meeting] Angelina Jolie since we don't want to be wrongly presented in the world ... Our voices are worthwhile and we should have got much more respect. Angelina made a big mistake. We feel that she did not act like a real UNHCR ambassador and we believe that she has no more credibility to remain the ambassador."
Jolie said in a statement in October that it would be a shame if "unfair pressure based on wrong information" prevented her from shooting her movie. According to her synopsis, the movie is a wartime love story between a Serb guard in a prison camp and his former girlfriend, a Bosnian Muslim detainee. It does not contain any rape scenes.
Jolie asked her crew to shoot a few panoramic scenes in Bosnia earlier this year, but did not herself travel to the country. The rest of the filming has reportedly been completed in Hungary.
Bakira Hasečić, the Association's head, told news agency AFP Jolie had invited the victims to meet her in Hungary, but they had refused the invitation.
"Crimes were committed here, in Bosnia, and we want to meet her here," she said. "We wanted to talk woman to woman. She should have asked after the victims, come [to Bosnia] before the shooting to hear our voice. As far as we are concerned a love story could not have existed in a camp. Such an interpretation is causing us mental suffering."
Jolie started shooting her directorial debut – a love story between a Muslim woman and a Serb man set during the country's civil war in the early 90s – in Bosnia in October. The problems began when local media reported the film featured scenes in which a Bosnian rape victim falls in love with her Serbian attacker. Jolie soon came in for criticism from Bosnia's Association of Women Victims of War after she failed to meet members to discuss the stories.
The allegations temporarily saw authorities withdrawing permission for the actor to shoot in the country, though the green light was eventually given after Gavrilo Grahovac, the Bosnian culture minister, saw a screenplay. However, the Association remains angry at what it sees as Jolie's "ignorant" attitude and has now written to the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR), for which Jolie is a goodwill ambassador.
"Angelina Jolie's ignorant attitude towards victims says enough about the scenario and gives us the right to continue having doubts about it," the group wrote.
"We have insisted [on meeting] Angelina Jolie since we don't want to be wrongly presented in the world ... Our voices are worthwhile and we should have got much more respect. Angelina made a big mistake. We feel that she did not act like a real UNHCR ambassador and we believe that she has no more credibility to remain the ambassador."
Jolie said in a statement in October that it would be a shame if "unfair pressure based on wrong information" prevented her from shooting her movie. According to her synopsis, the movie is a wartime love story between a Serb guard in a prison camp and his former girlfriend, a Bosnian Muslim detainee. It does not contain any rape scenes.
Jolie asked her crew to shoot a few panoramic scenes in Bosnia earlier this year, but did not herself travel to the country. The rest of the filming has reportedly been completed in Hungary.
Bakira Hasečić, the Association's head, told news agency AFP Jolie had invited the victims to meet her in Hungary, but they had refused the invitation.
"Crimes were committed here, in Bosnia, and we want to meet her here," she said. "We wanted to talk woman to woman. She should have asked after the victims, come [to Bosnia] before the shooting to hear our voice. As far as we are concerned a love story could not have existed in a camp. Such an interpretation is causing us mental suffering."
read more: guardian.co.uk
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