Angelina Jolie movie hits cinemas this Christmas, aspires for Oscars nod

Angelina Jolie's first feature-length film as director will be released in the United States on December 23 to coincide with the holidays and to make it qualified to be in contention for next year's Academy Awards.

Entitled "In The Land of Blood and Honey," the film is a love story set in the Bosnian war. Angelina Jolie wrote the screenplay in addition to her directorial duties. The actress recently said she had a long list of titles for the film under consideration before settling for the final one.

The GK Films subsidiary FilmDistrict has been selected as distributor of the highly-anticipated film which features an almost all-Bosnian cast.

"The film is specific to the Bosnian War, but it's also universal," the 35-year-old Oscar-winning actress said in a statement. "I wanted to tell a story of how human relationships and behavior are deeply affected by living inside a war."

Even though it brings back the spotlight to the atrocities of the Balkan conflict in the 1990s, the film project was met with some criticism and opposition in Bosnia regarding some plot details and depiction of violence against women. Angelina Jolie had to re-shoot some scenes in Hungary after authorities canceled the filming permit.

GK Films founder and film producer Graham King said Angelina Jolie's first film "signals the arrival of a visceral and compelling storyteller."

Jolie praised the cast of his directorial debut. "The former Yugoslavia has a rich history of dramatic arts. The cast was extraordinary," the "Salt" star said. "I was privileged and honored to work with them and I am very excited for everyone to see their immense talent."

Angelina Jolie was with husband Brad Pitt at the Cannes Film Festival where the latter attended the premiere of his latest film "The Tree of Life" directed by reclusive director Terrence Malick.