Angelina Jolie Honored With Citizen Of Sarajevo Award In Bosnia

Angelina Jolie received the honorary Citizen award from Prime Minister of the Sarajevo Canton, Fikret Music, at the 18th Sarajevo Film Festival on Saturday, for her philanthropic work in Bosnia.

"The time I spent and the people I met in Bosnia have changed me forever. I can't tell you how much it means to me to be named an honorary citizen of Sarajevo, a city so dear to my heart," said an honored Jolie about her love for the country and its people.

Jolie's directorial debut, "In the Land of Blood and Honey" was set during the Bosnian War. The film "tells the story of Danijel and Ajla, two Bosnians from different sides of a brutal ethnic conflict."

"It was the hardest thing I have ever done because of my deep respect for the people that really experienced it. The experience here was so unique for me that I felt very connected to the people," she remarked.

The film was extraordinarily written, and garnered critical acclaim.

Pete Hammond from Backstage magazine said, "Brilliant! A powerful, important, humane and uncompromising film. An astonishing writing and directorial debut from Angelina Jolie. If you didn't know who made this movie you might swear it was the work of a great European auteur. The cast is simply extraordinary. "In the Land of Blood and Honey" is a gripping motion picture you won't soon, and should not ever, forget."

" The starkest most relentless film about war since Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket'." Wrote David Ehrenstein from the Quarterly Review of Film and Video.

"So powerful that it deserves to be seen," expressed Peter Suderman from the Washington Times.

However, the focus of the night wasn't on Jolie's achievement but the massive rock that weighed down her delicate finger.

Jolie recently got engaged to her long-time partner, and father of her brood, Brad Pitt. The ring cost an impressive $500,000, and was designed to fit Jolie's specifications by both Pitt, and jeweler Robert Procop.