MOSCOW, November 14. /TASS/. Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica told TASS that he views Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie as a propagandist, condemning her recent visit to the Kherson Region and referencing her directorial debut, the film "In the Land of Blood and Honey" about the Bosnian War, which he described as ineffective propaganda work.
"Well, I suppose I should go to Donbass, but then, I am not a star," Kusturica remarked ironically. "<…> Angelina Jolie, in her capacity as a specialist, is a propagandist, which is to say she is not a specialist at all."
On November 5, reports emerged that Jolie had visited Kherson, a city under Kiev's control. Subsequently, Ukrainian media outlets alleged that members of the territorial defense forces detained a man from Jolie's entourage overnight at a checkpoint en route to Yuzhnoukrainsk in Ukraine's southern Nikolayev Region. According to these accounts, Jolie was compelled to intervene personally at the territorial defense forces headquarters to secure his release. Insider further clarified that the driver was detained for a considerable period, necessitating calls to the office of Vladimir Zelensky.
Discussing Jolie's film, which is set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War, Kusturica characterized it as an instance of a failed publicity stunt. "She made a film about the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ('In the Land of Blood and Honey,' 2011). <…> She was allocated $10-15 million to produce a foolish film about the Bosnian War, which constitutes poor propaganda work.
Soviet films, by contrast, featured very impactful messaging. But in Hollywood, it is invariably [poor propaganda]," the director stated.
Kusturica stressed that he does not regard Jolie as a genuine filmmaker. "If Angelina Jolie is a director, then I am an astronaut," he quipped.