Vanessa McMahon

photo from SFF press official site

A surprise attendance of the world's most famous movie couple, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, came as a shock to all inside and outside of Sarajevo's National Theater on closing night of the 17th Sarajevo Film Festival on July 30th, 2011.

Angelina has a special place in her heart for Bosnia's capital city as she has just finished her directorial debut which was shot in Bosnia, a love story set during the Yugoslav wars called, IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY (2011). Sarajevo also holds Angelina dear in its heart as she was awarded the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award.

When she accepted her award, she said this about her experience and love affair with this country, “I’m so happy to be in this remarkable city in this beautiful country and I’ve spent the last year lucky enough to experience not just the warmth and the hospitality of the local people but also your extraordinary talent [...] In my career, I have never worked with such disciplined and talented artists as I was able to this last year”.

Angelina made a photo op with her silver Sarajevo heart award and also presented the award for Best Actor to Austrian actor Thomas Schubert from the competition film BREATHING/ATMEN (Austria, 2011).

To read more about Angelina's special appearance at SFF 2011, see this page on the SFF official site: "Presenting the Honorary Hear of Sarajevo before a capacity crowd in the National Theatre, Mirsad Purivatra, Director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, said: “Tonight, we present this Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award to a remarkable actress, not only for her extraordinary career in the world of film, but also for her remarkable engagement in the real world, which we are all equally a part of.” ... read more here: http://www.sff.ba/news/show/id/843

photos by Vanessa McMahon