Global General

Jolie taps Bosnian actress for film she will direct

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-26 07:34

Bosnian actress Zana Marjanovic, 27, won the lead role in Jolie's wartime film. [Agencies]

SARAJEVO, Bosnia and Herzegovina - A largely unknown Bosnian actress has nabbed the lead role in Angelina Jolie's directorial debut about a Serbian man and Bosnian woman who meet on the eve of the 1992-95 Bosnian war. They fall in love in the middle of the war, but are driven to take different paths, according to Hollywood trade daily Variety.

Sarajevo-born Zana Marjanovic, who played in two Bosnian feature films and a series of plays, said the film would be set in the Bosnian war but would not meddle in politics.

"The story is very complex but is primarily a love story," said Marjanovic, who escaped the Bosnian war and has lived in New York with her family.

Jolie has visited Bosnia twice this year - as a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and to scout for her movie - and had promised she would cast only actors from the region. Marjanovic became known after her prominent role in award winning Snow by Bosnian director Aida Begic.

Jolie, who is currently Hollywood's highest-paid actress, will write, direct and produce the movie.

"Angelina is a wonderful person," Marjanovic says. "At the moment I am so excited because of this opportunity that I have no time to think about what comes next."

The film is expected to cost $15 million, a source close to the producers said.