CONVERSATION AIR DATE: Jan. 17, 2012
'In the Land of Blood and Honey:' The Bosnian War as Told by Angelina Jolie
Watch 'In the Land of Blood and Honey:' The Bosnian War as Told by Angelina Jolie on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.
SUMMARY
Academy Award winning actress Angelina Jolie sat down with Jeffrey Brown to discuss, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," her directorial debut. Jolie admits the film, which takes an unflinching look at the mass rape and ethnic cleansing of the Bosnian War in the 1990s, is "a hard movie to watch, but it is intentionally so."
GWEN IFILL: Finally tonight, an unflinching look back at the war in Bosnia, as told by Angelina Jolie.
Jeffrey Brown recently sat down with the Oscar-winning actress and the stars of her new film.
JEFFREY BROWN: She's one of the most recognizable women in the world, an actress who often appears in glamorous or action roles.
ANGELINA JOLIE (in character): Have you violated international law?
JEFFREY BROWN: But for her latest movie, Angelina Jolie has stepped behind the camera as a first-time director and writer, and tackled a very serious subject, indeed.
"In the Land of Blood and Honey" is a fictional account of events of the war in Bosnia of the 1990s, in which more than 100,000 people were killed amid ethnic cleansing and brutal atrocities against civilians, including systematic rape.
Ms. Jolie, why the war in Bosnia? Was it something that you knew about long ago as it was happening or that you learned about?
ANGELINA JOLIE: It was something that I knew very little of and always felt a responsibility to learn more.
JEFFREY BROWN: Responsibility? Why?
ANGELINA JOLIE: As a human being, because I was 17 when it started. And I had spent the last 10 years traveling the world and going to conflicts zones and post-conflict zones and meeting people who had suffered through war and really seeing the state of people who -- as I worked so hard on how do you help countries heal, or how do you return people to areas, or how do you help people get past the trauma they face, you often question, why did it have to go this far?
So, this question of intervention, this question of just war itself. And then Bosnia just was always ringing in my mind in this -- what was that? How did that happen in the '90s? How did that go on for four years with nobody doing anything 40 minutes from Italy? How -- and then the more I read about the rape camps and the concentration camps, and -- I just couldn't -- I just couldn't understand it.
And I wanted to understand it. And so I decided to do a project that I thought was going to remain private on my desk to give myself an education.
JEFFREY BROWN: The private research led to the idea for the film, one in which Jolie used Bosnian actors, including Zana Marjanovic and Goran Kostic in the lead roles.
Their characters share a complicated love affair twisted by the viciousness of war, he a Serbian soldier, she a Muslim artist taken captive.
I wonder, how was making this film, because of its subject matter, different from other acting that you've done?
ZANA MARJANOVIC, actress: It was very different. It was -- first of all, it's personal. You know, it's -- I was born in Bosnia. And I live there now. And it's very personal in that way. So it's a huge responsibility at the same time to play a character that lives in a historical period.
JEFFREY BROWN: You felt that while you were doing it?
ZANA MARJANOVIC: I felt that while I was doing it every today.
GORAN KOSTIC, actor: Indeed, it was very important to get it right, to be genuine and honest, not just to ourselves, of course, but to the public and to the script.
So we knew that we were treading a finding a very specific line. I think, if we kind of slowly lose our balance and push it to much in one side or the other, we might actually not do justice to the victims of the war.
JEFFREY BROWN: It was hard to watch. Was it hard to make?
ZANA MARJANOVIC: Yes, it was very difficult. You know, our first scene, the first day, the first scene we shot is actually when the women are taken off the bus and train to concentration camp and where the first rape happens.
So this is the first scene we did. And it was -- we just -- and talked about it later on. And I thought, God, why did we have to do that scene first? And it was a very good point that Angelina Jolie made. She said, you know, we need to know that there will be no easy scenes in this film.
JEFFREY BROWN: Off-screen, it seems Angelina Jolie has two very different personas, celebrity and tabloid regular married to Brad Pitt, and the advocate for human rights who serves as a U.N. goodwill ambassador, with particular attention to the plight of women.
You know, another notable aspect, clearly, is the focus on women. Most war films are about the men fighting. This was clearly conscious for you. Important to you?
ANGELINA JOLIE: It is. Very. And it was very specific to this war. It wasn't that I -- as I learned about this war, I just met with so many women. And they told me their firsthand accounts of being raped or being held and used as a human shield or watching their mothers being forced to strip and dance naked in front of soldiers and face the humiliation.
JEFFREY BROWN: You know, this is harrowing and powerful, but not a fun or easy night at the movies, right? Is it your sense that Hollywood, I don't know, and filmmakers too often avoid taking on subjects like this, tough subjects?
ANGELINA JOLIE: Well, I know -- I know these are hard films to watch. I mean, they're the films I like to watch. But I also know that when life is hard for people, and the economy has been very hard, and people have been in a really tough state these days, I also know the need for escapism, and I understand that. . .
JEFFREY BROWN: You've been part of that.
ANGELINA JOLIE: And I've been a big part of that.
And I -- you know, but these are the movies I like to watch, because, at the end of the day, I think people innately want to be responsible. We want to know what's happening around us. We want to be a part of the world, be in the world and of the world.
And it is a hard movie to watch, but it is intentionally so. And you're going to want to get out of that theater and you're going to want somebody to stop it. And you're going to wish that this wasn't -- and what it is, is, it's still a movie. It's not even real, and it's as upsetting as it is. So, it forces people to wonder what it must have really been like.
JEFFREY BROWN: And one more thing. This is your directing debut. How did that compare to acting? Is it, I don't know, more fun, less fun, more fulfilling, less fulfilling?
ANGELINA JOLIE: Yeah, it was so different, because this one for me was -- I love history. And I love social -- I'm very interested in social issues and women's issues, of course.
And so this was a labor of love on so many levels. And then I also -- creatively, I have worked with a lot of actors and a lot of people around the world, but I have never worked with people from Yugoslavia. And they are an extraordinary bunch of people, so not only extraordinarily talented, but also just a life, a life that they brought to the set, the music and the culture and the -- so, it was -- I felt like I was welcomed into a world, not just learning about a history, but into a family.
And so it was the best experience I've ever had on film.
JEFFREY BROWN: "In the Land of Blood and Honey" is now in select theaters across the country.
I
might as well quickly get out of the way the most obvious detail: Yes,
Angelina Jolie is an attractive human being, this day exuding more
seriousness of purpose than glamor. But I left thinking less about her
than about the strange experience of interviewing her. Let me try to
explain.First some background: Jolie has written and directed her first film and it is a very serious affair, indeed. "In the Land of Blood and Honey" is a dramatic account of events during the war in Bosnia in the 1990s, in which more than 100,000 were killed amid ethnic cleansing and atrocities against civilians, including systematic rape. Jolie has worked hard, with a cast of superb Bosnian actors, to capture the horror and brutality through the lives of her characters. It is, at times, hard to watch.
Last week, we received an email telling us that Jolie would be in Washington and available for interviews at such and such hotel. Would we be interested? Well, yes. It all sounded straightforward enough. But then we experienced the strange world of the celebrity "press junket." I admit it: We at the NewsHour are generally sheltered and spoiled. I have the enormous privilege of talking to great writers, musicians, actors and other artists who really want to talk to us and who are often very ready and willing to give us the time and space that our long-form style calls for. But this, the junket, was something quite different.
We were invited -- along with many others. More than a dozen interviews in a few hours: It's an efficient way for the star to do her publicity. And efficiency and precision were the order of the day. A small army of publicists handed out time slots, showed us to the "hospitality suite" to wait, asked us outside the interview room when our turn was near, ushered us in and ushered us out. Next, next, next and thank you and thank you. Our first time slot, to interview two of the actors, was set for 3:16-3:24 p.m.(!), including greeting, putting on microphones, quick camera check and so on. So, we were told, you'll have about five minutes for the interview, strictly timed and enforced. Second interview, with Jolie and another actor, from 3:24-3:32 p.m. Same deal -- though even more strict because this involved Jolie herself.
Precision and control -- I had to laugh: Just the week before I'd gone to the Pentagon to interview Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. The Jolie press junket, as it turned out, was a far more controlled and patrolled affair! Please understand: I don't mean to complain, just to note. And to take the thought further: There is great artifice in television, more than we usually like to talk about. When I sit in a television studio with someone who looks a bit nervous, I might say: "Don't worry, it's just the two of us at a table having a conversation. Just like real life." Sure! Just like real life with lots of cameras, lights, time cues, a control room full of people watching nearby, a million and more others watching on sets around the country and the world (including the guest's loved ones, praying he or she doesn't faint or freeze up on live television).
When we go on the road for stories, we have equipment, lights and usually a small team of people creating the very "intimate" moments you see. My favorite story along these lines happened last year in a very small rural village in Haiti. After shooting our interviews, we wanted to capture some scenes of village life. A woman was sweeping her steps. Our cameraman began to roll. The woman looked at the camera. Our producer explained that it doesn't work if she's looking right at the camera. "Just act naturally. Pretend we're not here." To which the woman responded: "How can I pretend you're not here when you just spoke to me? You ARE here." A very wise woman. We could only laugh.
So, plenty of artifice goes into the creation of television stories. The press junket was a small corner of that world offering a bit of reality (yes, I was in the room and spoke to Jolie) and a bit of illusion (we were the tiniest part of the tame pack).
Does this matter? Perhaps not -- it's the result that finally counts most. Jolie and the actors were passionate and as engaged as they could be under the circumstances. You can decide for yourself when you see our final piece. But sometimes -- for me, at least -- the process is as interesting as the product.
And no, I did not ask -- and have no new information -- about Brad or any marriage plans.
Jeffrey Brown's conversation with Angelina Jolie about her film, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," will air on Tuesday's NewsHour.
Willie Waffle Interview w/ Angelina Jolie
Willie Waffle met up with Angelina Jolie while she was here in DC promoting the release of her latest film, In the Land of Blood and Honey, which she wrote/directed and produced. See the interview again on Sunday, January 15th at 10 a.m. on DC50's NewsPlus.
http://www.dc50tv.com/wdcw-angelina-jolie-interview-20120113,0,4502422.premiumvideo
To the Contrary | Angelina Jolie full interview | PBS
Uploaded by PBS on Jan 13, 2012 Angelina Jolie and stars of In the Land of Blood and Honey to Bonnie Erbe of PBS' To the Contrary about the movie and Jolie's debut as a writer-director
Angelina Jolie screens new film in D.C., meets Obama at the White House
President Obama met with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt at the White House Wednesday. The power couple was in Washington, D.C. for a screening of "In the Land of Blood and Honey," a film Jolie directed about the Bosnian War.Jolie spoke with CBSNews.com Tuesday about her directorial debut.
"I sat down at my computer one day very frustrated with violence against women and lack of intervention," Jolie, who is also a Goodwill Ambassador to the United Nations, said
.
"I always felt guilty about how little I knew about Bosnia and I always felt a responsibility to find out what happened to my generation."
"In the Land of Blood and Honey" is a love story set against the backdrop of a war that tore apart the Balkan region in the 1990s. Jolie characterized the film as "heavy" for its scenes depicting genocide, rape and brutality.
"The more I read, the more I learned, I was shocked at how little had been spoken about and I felt compelled to tell the story," Jolie said.
Jolie cast many people for whom this story was very personal.
One of the leads, Vanessa Glodjo, was born and raised in Bosnia and told CBSNews.com working on the film was a "beautiful opportunity."
CBS News chief White House correspondent Norah O'Donnell reports White House advisers Samantha Powers, Valerie Jarrett and Bill Daley were also present for Jolie and Pitt's meeting in the Oval Office Wednesday.
Pitt also attended Tuesday's screening at the Holocaust Museum in Washington.
Angelina Jolie goes to war
Star talks politics, international intervention on eve of directorial debut
It’s not only Washington that’s making it difficult to avoid politics. It’s the project she came to the city to promote, “In the Land of Blood and Honey.” A stark, ferocious movie about atrocity and violent ethnic conflict set in the Bosnian war of the early 1990s, the film has received mixed reviews but a number of compliments for Miss Jolie’s unsparing direction in her debut outing behind the camera.
“Blood and Honey,” opening Friday in the District, is part love story, part war movie, part somber monument to the war crimes - including mass rape and genocidal massacres - that occurred throughout the war. And according to Miss Jolie, it’s also a brief for humanitarian intervention.
Miss Jolie, who also wrote the screenplay (based on a story she sketched out in her journal while visiting Bosnia), says she doesn’t think of the film as having a partisan tilt in the ethnic strife endemic to the region. “It is very nuanced, intentionally nuanced,” she said. “It’s not black and white. I’m not choosing sides. The message is that there are these horrible things in our history, and we can’t forget them.”
But Miss Jolie doesn’t think it’s enough merely to remember what happened. The Oscar-winning actress, a longtime humanitarian advocate who meets frequently with political leaders and global refugees as part of her role as a U.N. special envoy, says the movie is also intended as a jolt to help viewers realize “what a horrible thing we did, internationally, to not help these people in a timely fashion. And the fact that we still aren’t, I don’t think, doing enough.”
What particularly upsets her about the conflict in Bosnia - and part of what drew her to the story - is that it’s so modern, and yet, she thinks, already overlooked. “The fact that this happened in the ‘90s,” she said, “just a few years after the Olympics were there,” in Sarajevo, a city that underwent the longest siege since World War II, is something that more people need to understand.
Miss Jolie is connected enough to world affairs that she casually mentions having communicated with the U.N. that morning, and easily brings up technical differences in various international court powers. But she doesn’t think others are paying enough attention. “The world still needs to be aware” of many conflicts going on today, she said. “We don’t want to have to do another film in 15 years about another situation.”
But if something must be done, the question is: What? And that’s where Miss Jolie has less to say.
Miss Jolie has visited Turkey to meet with Syrian refugees and dissenters who fled government persecution and says we “need to be doing more” to help the region. But when asked how she might feel about a U.N. resolution to topple the country’s government, she ducked.
“I certainly don’t know the answer,” Miss Jolie said. “But I spend time in that part of the world a lot. And I try to get to know people from that part of the world and listen to them.”
Those conversations have given rise to acceptance of the complexities and potential problems of intervention, which she worries can be just as dangerous as the situations they are designed to stop. “We have to make sure that whatever comes next isn’t worse,” she says. “It’s not just about removing somebody.”
And what about her role? She will continue to work with the U.N. and meet with world leaders, as well as remain active in the Council on Foreign Relations, which she joined in 2007.
A big part of her contribution, though, is making the movie; she and husband Brad Pitt reportedly had to finance much of the film’s $13 million budget themselves. She also has been on an aggressive promotion tour that’s as much about getting the message out as it is about selling the movie. “If art in any way can be of assistance, it should be,” she explains.
The movie, is “for Bosnia,” she says. “It’s for dialogue. To remind people that there are still fresh wounds, and they deserve our support.”
Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt showcase 'In the Land of Blood and Honey'
Angelina Jolie in Washington, DC Awarded Personality of the Year "Dnevni Avaz"
Balkan Insight
Europa Newswire
Photos by Luiz Rampelotto
The biggest newspaper in Bosnia and Herzegovina “Dnevni avaz” (Daily Voice) from Sarajevo with the highest circulation in the region awarded Hollywood super star Angelina Jolie with their traditional “Person of the Year” (for 2011), for her film “In The Land Of Blood and Honey”, that was written and directed by Ms. Jolie.
The film is an intimate drama about Bosnian war (1992 – 1995), about a Bosnian Muslim woman and Bosnian Serb soldier who happened to run the concentration camp, where Bosnian Muslim women are being raped. The Avaz Award (Person of the Year 2011) was given to Angelina Jolie by Avaz’s UN and US correspondent, veteran Bosnian journalist Erol Avdovic in Washington just hours before her film was screened in US Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.
Source: Webpublicapress
Foto: Luiz Rampelotto/Europa Newswire
