Angelina Jolie war movie set in Bosnia draws flak from rape victims

Angelina Jolie war movie set in Bosnia draws flak from rape victims

Angelina Jolie and her movie project set during the war in Bosnia has drawn intense criticism after news of a controversial story angle came out. There have been previous reports that the film features a rapist character having a relationship with his victim. That angered a group of women who claimed that they have been sexually abused during the actual conflict. The Hollywood actress was described in Monday’s protests as “ignorant” of their plight and the real events surrounding the war. The Women Victims of War wrote to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, who counts Angelina Jolie as one of its goodwill ambassadors, that they are “deeply concerned about the movie.”

“Angelina Jolie’s ignorant attitude towards victims says enough about the scenario and gives us the right to continue having doubts about it,” the group wrote. Just after the movie plot was leaked, rape victims during the Bosnian War came out and lobbied for Angelina Jolie’s movie shooting permit to be cancelled. The country’s culture ministry later determined that the love story between a Bosnian woman and a Serb man was not it was alleged to be and the film permit was given back. In light of the controversy, Jolie reduced the days of shooting from ten days to three and moved locations from Bosnia to Hungary. The actress then said she sought to have a dialogue with the women to clarify some issues but the meeting did not push through.

“We have insisted to meet Angelina Jolie since we don’t want to be wrongly presented in the world…Our voices are worthwhile and we should have got much more respect,” the women wrote. “Angelina made a big mistake. We feel that she did not act like a real UNHCR ambassador and we believe that she has no more credibility to remain the ambassador.”

Posted by Kade Quinn on Sunday December 05 2010, 9:41 PM EST. Ref: Daily Mail News. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Entertainment, Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0