Producers working on ANGELINA JOLIE‘s directorial debut have submitted the script of the wartime love story to Bosnian officials in a bid to win back permission to shoot in the country.
Jolie recently began filming the as-yet-untitled drama in Hungary and had planned to shoot scenes in Sarajevo and Zenica in Bosnia, where the story is set.
But the Hollywood star’s plans were thrown into jeopardy earlier this week (begs11Oct10) when Bosnian government representatives revoked the actress’ production permit following a mix-up over the movie’s plot.
Trade publication Variety initially reported the film would tell the story of a Serbian man and Bosnian woman who fall in love in the middle of the Bosnian war, but are driven to take different paths.
However, local press claimed the film was a love story between a Muslim victim and her Serbian rapist, provoking uproar from Bosnian campaigners for women’s rights groups.
Gavrilo Grahovac, the Culture Minister of the Muslim-Croat federation – one of the two political entities in post-war Bosnia – confirmed on Wednesday (13Oct10) Jolie’s film licence had been revoked.
He added the ban was the government officials’ way to “express our disapproval for the shooting of a movie which does not tell the truth and hurts a large number of victims”.
But producers at Scout Film in Sarajevo, who are working with Jolie on the project, insist the local news outlets have got the storyline all wrong – and they handed over a copy of the screenplay on Thursday (14Oct10) to challenge the government’s decision.
Edin Sarkic, a representative for Scout Film, says, “I brought them the script and I am waiting for a positive response as soon as possible, I hope even today.”
Source : Contactmusic
