With what seems like an increasing number of Hollywood stars getting behind the camera, Angelina Jolie decided to take on a major challenge for her directorial debut. For her Bosnian war love story, In The Land Of Blood And Honey, she decided to shoot two versions, one in English and the other in their native Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian language. And today we finally have our first look via a trailer.

Featuring a cast of relative unknowns here in the states, including Milos Timotijevic, Alma Terzic, Zana Marjanovic, Goran Kostic, Rade Serbedzija and Branko Djuric, Jolie’s directorial debut looks to be a bold effort. The mix of romance and war seems to be firmly tied together and more intense then expected. If this trailer was in the Bosnian language and I didn’t know who directed, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a top contender for Best Foreign Oscar. We’ll have to see how possible awards play out later this year, but one can likely see this trailer in front of FilmDistrict’s The Rum Diary next week. Check it out below.

Synopsis:

In the Land of Blood and Honey is a melancholy drama set during Bosnia’s 1992-95 civil war and follows a Christian Serb (Goran Kostic) and a Bosniak woman (Zana Marjanovic) whose lives are torn apart when violence flares between ethnic and religious groups.

In the Land of Blood and Honey hits limited theaters on December 23rd.

[The Playlist]