In the Land of Blood and Honey

In the Land of Blood and Honey
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Name	In the Land of Blood and Honey
Director	Angelina Jolie
Producer	Angelina Jolie
Writer	Angelina Jolie
Starring	Zana Marjanović, Goran Kostić, Rade Šerbedžija
Music	Gabriel Yared
Cinematography	Dean Semler
Editing	Tim Squyres
Studio	Jolie Pas, GK Films
Distributor	FilmDistrict
Released	23 December 2011
Runtime	142 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Bosnian, Serbian, Croatian

In the Land of Blood and Honey

In the Land of Blood and Honey is a 2011 war drama film written, produced, and directed by Angelina Jolie. The film depicts a fictionalized love story set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War and portrays events connected to the Siege of Sarajevo, the Siege of Srebrenica, and the breakup of Yugoslavia. The production assembled cast and crew with links to Sarajevo, Belgrade, and the wider film industries of Hollywood, Europe, and the Balkans.

Plot

The narrative follows a Bosnian Muslim woman and a Bosnian Serb man whose prewar intimacy is severed by the violent fragmentation of Yugoslavia and the eruption of the Bosnian War, including references to the Dayton Agreement, the UN Protection Force, and NATO air campaigns. Set amid ethnically charged episodes resembling the Siege of Sarajevo, the Srebrenica massacre, and the Vance–Owen peace plan negotiations, the story interweaves scenes reminiscent of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia proceedings, refugee flows to Zagreb and Belgrade, and corridors guarded by UNPROFOR peacekeepers. The plot traces forced displacement to Tuzla and Prijedor, detention in camps evocative of Omarska and Trnopolje, and moral dilemmas paralleling testimonies at The Hague, touching on cultural sites in Mostar, the Old Bridge, and Sarajevo’s Baščaršija.

Cast

The principal cast includes Zana Marjanović, Goran Kostić, and Rade Šerbedžija, supported by actors with credits across regional and international cinema such as Vanessa Glodjo and Branko Đurić. Performers drawn from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia brought backgrounds connected to theaters in Sarajevo, Belgrade Drama Theatre, Croatian National Theatre, and film festivals like Sarajevo Film Festival and Pula Film Festival. Casting choices reflected intersections with directors, producers, and institutions including Emir Kusturica, Danis Tanović, Jasmila Žbanić, Ken Loach, Luc Besson, and Ridley Scott via their regional collaborators and alumni of European Film Academy programs. Secondary cast members had appeared in works tied to the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, Venice Film Festival, and the Academy Awards.

Production

Development began after Angelina Jolie engaged with diplomats, non-governmental organizations, and archives in Sarajevo, Washington, and Brussels, consulting materials from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, and Amnesty International. Pre-production involved location shoots in Sarajevo, Mostar, and Zagreb, with cinematography by Dean Semler and costume and production design influenced by museums such as the Historical Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the National Museum of Serbia. Funding and distribution partners included GK Films, FilmDistrict, and Jolie Pas, with post-production leveraging editors and composers connected to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the European Film Academy. The production coordinated with Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian film boards, film commissions, and unionized crews from RTS, HRT, and RTV Slovenija.

Historical context and controversy

The film is set during the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the subsequent Bosnian War, events involving political entities such as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Serbia, and international actors including the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, and the United States. Its depiction prompted debate among historians, journalists, diplomats, and legal scholars who referenced the Srebrenica genocide rulings by the International Court of Justice and the ICTY indictments of figures like Radovan Karadžić, Ratko Mladić, and Slobodan Milošević. Responses invoked media outlets and institutions such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, BBC, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, the Sarajevo Film Festival, PEN International, Human Rights Watch, and local academic centers at the University of Sarajevo, University of Belgrade, and University of Zagreb. Critics and commentators compared the film to prior cinematic treatments of the conflict by directors including Danis Tanović, Jasmila Žbanić, Emir Kusturica, and Aida Begić, noting disputes about representation, historical accuracy, and the portrayal of sexual violence, the latter a subject of reports by Physicians for Human Rights and the UN Commission of Experts. Political figures, embassies, cultural ministries, and veteran associations across Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Croatia, and the United States participated in the ensuing public debate.

Release and reception

The film premiered at festivals and screening venues including the AFI Fest, Toronto International Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and the Sarajevo Film Festival before theatrical release by FilmDistrict. Reviews appeared in publications and outlets such as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Salon, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, New York Post, Time, Entertainment Weekly, Slate, and The Economist. Critical responses ranged from praise for cinematography, score by Gabriel Yared, and performances to criticism from scholars, survivors, and columnists over narrative choices and historical representation; commentators referenced institutions such as the Academy Awards voting body, the British Board of Film Classification, and national censor boards in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Croatia. Box office reporting tracked revenues in markets including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and the Balkans, with exhibition partners at multiplex chains and arthouse cinemas participating in programmed retrospectives alongside films screened at Venice, Cannes, and Berlin.

Awards and nominations

The film was submitted to and shown at several film festivals and award bodies, with nominations and screenings considered by panels from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the European Film Academy, BAFTA, and regional festivals such as Sarajevo Film Festival, Pula Film Festival, and FEST Belgrade. Individual contributors—director, cinematographer, composer, and actors—received festival citations, jury mentions, and nominations from organizations including Critics’ Circle, National Board of Review, Hollywood Film Awards, and local Armenian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Serbian guilds and academies. Category:2011 films