Angelina Jolie banned from Bosnia over rape portrayal in new movie
Angelina Jolie has had her permission to film scenes from an upcoming movie in Bosnia Herzegovina withdrawn, after formal protests from women’s groups in the country.
The controversy centres around the film’s subject matter, focusing on a Bosnian Muslim woman who falls in love with the Serbian man who rapes her during the Balkans conflict.
After ‘Women:War Victims’, one of the country’s most prominent women’s organisations, voiced their outrage, culture minister Gavrilo Grahovac confirmed that a ban had been imposed on Wednesday stating: ‘We will only give them a permit to film if we can see the script and it shows us the story is not one that insults Bosnian women, victims of war’
It is thought that Jolie, who is to star in and make her directorial debut with the movie, could reignite tensions and grievances for the estimated thousands of women who were raped during the war which raged in the early nineties.
The Daily Mail (which has this story) makes no mention of any response from the Hollywood actress, and without wishing to condemn her in advance, this one seems pretty clear cut to me.
Regardless of the story you have to tell, regardless of the advantages you might think raising such issues might ultimately have, if the real women who were raped and tortured and who still have to live with the daily scars of those experiences are upset and traumatised by such a move, then surely the right thing to do is to think again.
EDIT: The BBC also cover this story today, and do include a response from Jolie, who unsurprisingly asks critics to ‘hold judgement’ until they have seen the film, referencing plot twists that will ‘reveal the sensitive nature of the relationship between the main characters.’
I’m more stunned by the government’s response tbh. They do NOT support the women that were raped or the children that were conceived of rape in any way whatsoever.
From 2005 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bosnias-rape-babies-abandoned-by-their-families-forgotten-by-the-state-519257.html
‘Marijana Senjak, a psychologist working for the NGO Medica in Zenica, which assists women who have been abused, says ‘ A lot of politicians have taken advantage of the women’s plight and used the issues of war rape for their own ends. The state has done nothing to organise a unified response to women’s needs.’
Nothing has changed since.
Angelina Jolie has responded to say that the stories about her film are false. Quelle Surprise!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11549431
Hi earwicga,
Many thanks for the update on Jolie’s response. I’ve updated the story to reflect it. I suspect that this will be one to watch, as it certainly seems to have the potential to continue generating controversy.
Thanks Kate. I’ve written about it on my blog. The following two links offer more background on Bosnia’s treatment of rape victims:
From 2002: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/bosnias-rape-babies-abandoned-by-their-families-forgotten-by-the-state-519257.html
From 2009: http://mondediplo.com/2010/03/09bosnia
And of course, Eve Ensler’s ‘Necessary Targets’ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Necessary-Targets-Play-Eve-Ensler/dp/0375756035/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1287139074&sr=1-1
There’s an annoying quote in the Telegraph story from the production company, which is either being incredibly pigheaded and insensitive, or just plain ignorant:
‘The production company, Scout Film, has now sent a copy of the script to the ministry in an effort to reassure them about the storyline. “The film has nothing to do with the allegation made by this women’s association. It is only a love story,” a spokesman said. ‘
‘only a love story’! So stop being silly, all you women who have been raped.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bosnia/8064634/Angelina-Jolie-refused-permission-to-film-war-story-in-Bosnia.html
Thanks Hannah. If the film has nothing to do with mass rapes then ‘only a love story’ is fair comment. If not then it is horrible. From what I’ve read the film is set on the eve of the war.