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Permission granted

October 19, 2010

Actress Angelina Jolie has now gained permission to shoot her controversial film set on the eve of the Bosnian War. Officials had denied the first-time director shooting rights after protests from women's groups.

https://p.dw.com/p/PhMc
Jolie smiling
Jolie is directing her first film and recently released "Salt," in which she starredImage: AP

The culture minister of Bosnia's Muslim-Croat federation, Gavrilo Grahovac, has reviewed the script for Angelina Jolie's new film and authorized her crew to film in Bosnia, his ministry said.

It had withdrawn permission last week, citing incomplete paperwork as the reason for the ban. However, the denial had followed on the heels of a meeting between Minister Grahovac and a women's activist group, which had criticized the film's plot as "unacceptable."

Setting things straight

Angelina Jolie, shown here in Iraq, is also a Goodwill ambassador for the United Nations
Jolie, shown here in Iraq, is also a Goodwill ambassador for the United NationsImage: UNHCR /B. Heger

Sarajevo media had reported that the film would tell the story of a Muslim rape victim who falls in love with her Serb soldier rapist. Jolie denied the reports, with her production staff reissuing the original script to the ministry for review.

Jolie later said the movie was intended to remind people of what happened during the 1992-95 Bosnian War, which left some 100,000 people dead. Rape was systematically practiced, with Bosniak women making up the majority of victims.

Filming has already begun in Hungary and the crew is scheduled to relocate to Bosnia in November, with scenes originally set in Sarajevo and the central town of Zenica.

Author: Louisa Schaefer (Reuters, AP, dpa, AFP)
Editor: Kate Bowen