The Philippine Online Chronicles

Amid her hectic schedule promoting Salt, Angelina Jolie found time to announce her next project – a film about lovers during the 1990s Bosnian war.

The statement was issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for refugees (UNHCR), of which she is a goodwill ambassador. The film, which will also be directed by Jolie, is about a couple who meet on the eve of the war. It tackles the effect of the conflict on their relationship.

Jolie emphasized that the cast would be drawn from the diverse ethnic groups of former Yugoslavia. She said she would want to involve as many local people as possible.

While it clearly said that the “film is a love story, not political statement,” the statement quoted Jolie saying, “I hope that there’ll soon be practical steps to improve these people’s lives…The political leaders have shown a spirit of compromise in getting this far. Now it needs a little more urgency.”

Jolie had recently visited Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo when she, together with partner Brad Pitt, visited the country in April as UNHCR ambassador and met with top officials of Bosnia. An Associated Press article reported that Jolie was interested in supporting education and other social service projects for the youth and displaced people who are returning to the country. She pointed out the fact that 117,000 people have yet to return to their homes after the war had ended.

According to Agence France Presse, the Bosnian war left 100,000 people dead and 2.2 million refugees and displaced persons.

Besides her numerous acting awards, Jolie is widely known for her humanitarian causes and family life with Pitt and seven children – three of which were adopted from Ethiopia, Cambodia and Vietnam. Wikipedia cites her work in Cambodia for Tomb Raider as the start of her interest in humanitarian work.