Women for Women International announced today they are partnering with the Council on Foreign Relations to co-host Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie’s new film, “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” on Monday, December 5 in New York City.

Women for Women International, which was founded because of the Bosnian War in 1993 and the rape of over 20,000 women there, is an organization dedicated to helping women of all ethnicities who’ve been affected by war to rebuild their lives. Fittingly, the first office they opened was in war-torn Bosnia and Herzegovina back in 1994, and the organization has since expanded their work into seven other countries of conflict including Afghanistan, Iraq and Congo. Women for Women International Founder Zainab Salbi said, “It’s ironic after nearly two decades of working in war-torn countries as we are in Congo, rape is still a fundamental issue. It’s time this stopped once and for all, and we’re glad ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’ brings light back to this hugely important issue. It reminds the world about the atrocities women face in war and that we are a long way from stopping these atrocities.”

Set against the backdrop of the Bosnian War that tore the Balkan region apart in the 1990s, the movie tells the story of Danijel and Ajla, two Bosnians from different sides of the brutal ethnic conflict. The film portrays the incredible emotional, moral, and physical toll that the war takes on individuals as well as the consequences that stems from the lack of political will to intervene in a society stricken by conflict.

For nearly two decades Women for Women International has been helped over 316,000 women survivors of war to move from crisis and poverty, to stability and self-sufficiency. Although the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina ended more than 15 years ago, it toppled the economy and political system and shattered lives. Women are still struggling today: to heal, to recover and to reunite. Women for Women International’s programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina include direct financial aid, rights awareness classes, job and business skills training, and emotional support, thereby promoting viable civil societies.

The Bosnian War claimed over 100,000 lives and over two million people were driven from their homes. In partnering with the Council on Foreign Relations for the premiere of “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” Women for Women International hopes people will be reminded how victims of war, particularly women, need ongoing support in post conflict countries.

More details can be found at http://www.womenforwomen.org

Source: News Yahoo

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E! News has learned exclusively that Jolie is set to be the face of an upcoming worldwide ad campaign for designer Louis Vuitton.

The print-only campaign, which is scheduled to launch this summer, will be marketed globally…

A source familiar with the deal between Jolie and the French fashion behemoth tells E! News that the actress will get paid “close to $10 million” for her high-end endorsement deal, believed to be the most lucrative of her career.

We hear that Annie Leibowitz will do the photo-snapping honors within the next couple of weeks.

A rep for Louis Vuitton had no comment. Jolie’s publicist did not return calls seeking comment.

Jolie, who last year ended a long-term endorsement deal with St. John and recently launched a jewelry line, has long been a fan of the brand, often sporting its handbags in public.

Source: E

“I love speaking Russian. It’s very, very hard. I find it a very interesting sound because it can be so hard and strong and also very sensual and very beautiful,” says Jolie, 35, who picked up the language for her new spy thriller, Salt (out July 23).

Added Jolie (who spoke at a weekend event to promote the flick), “It’s a very interesting sounding language. It took me a long time. I just had to practice over and over and over and I was told that I was getting it wrong a bunch of times and I had to keep practicing.”

Jolie worked with a Russian vocal coach. “They’d do it with me, spend time with me and then they’d put it on tape. So I would take it home and I would just keep trying to get it exactly right and then trying not to get so stuck on a line.”

The actress says speaking the language on-screen added sexual tension with co-star Liev Schreiber, who can read Russian.

“It was interesting to see how seductive that language could become when we were doing it… that some sounds can really hinder that or some accents have a very specific feeling to them,” she says.

Jolie admitted in the new issue of Vanity Fair — an article she said over the weekend she has not read — that she’d like to retire from acting in the near future.

“I just imagine in the years to come… it’s not that I’m retiring, but there will be less films at some point and I’d love to do other things. I’d love to live in Africa for six months and fly planes,” she said.

Jolie looks forward to growing older, she says. “I do think that age is beautiful.”

For now, she stays young chasing her kids with Brad Pitt, 45, around their house.

Twins Knox and Viv — who turn 2 years old Monday — “are going in different directions at the same time,” she jokes. “We have put a lot more gates around. We’ve gated off a lot of the rooms in the house where they were going.”

The other kids — Maddox, 8, Pax, 6, Zahara, 5, and Shiloh, 4 — “are all over the place.”

“Zee is the fastest in the house,” adds Jolie.

Source: US Magazine

Shiloh has recently been snapped wearing boys’ neckties, jackets and hats, unlike that other mega-star child Suri Cruise who favors girly heels, dresses and jewelry.

“I think she (Shiloh) is fascinating, the choices she is making. And I would never be the kind of parent to force somebody to be something they are not. I think that is just bad parenting,” Angelina told Reuters on Saturday.

“Children should be allowed to express themselves in whatever way they wish without anybody judging them because it is an important part of their growth,” she said.

“Society always has something to learn when it comes to the way we judge each other, label each other. We have far to go.”

Angie had a taste of life in men’s clothes as her role of CIA officer, Salt, who’s wrongly accused of being a Russian spy and disguises herself as a man.

“It was fascinating,” she said. “The stunt guys I usually hung out talking to, didn’t want to hang out with me. The girls didn’t know how to respond…there was something about him that kind of freaked the whole crew out.”

Source: OK magazine

After spending several months in Los Angeles – with a few weeks in New York – the international family headed to Venice, Italy, on Monday, where Jolie is soon expected to begin shooting her upcoming thriller, The Tourist, with Johnny Depp.

Last week, Jolie went on a three-day trip to earthquake-ravaged Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic before joining Pitt and the kids for a long Valentine’s Day weekend in Los Angeles. Friday turned out to be family night, with the entire Jolie-Pitt brood enjoying a sizzling dinner at a Benihana Japanese Steakhouse.

The next evening Pitt, 46, and Jolie, 34, stepped out for a private event at The Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills. The family laid low on Valentine’s Day Sunday – then jetted off to Venice on Monday.

It didn’t take long for them to be spotted grabbing some ice cream while they took in their new, temporary home.

Should they return to their European base at Chateau Miraval during their stay, the family will be able to enjoy a new addition to the property: a 300-to-400-year-old olive tree purchased at English Garden Center in Opio, France, which is scheduled to be planted at Miraval this spring.

Source: People

Adoring Reese Witherspoon
Adoring Reese Gallery

The couple – who have been ensconced in their South of France chateau for two weeks – took separate daytrips over the weekend, demonstrating that with access to helicopters and private aircraft, their interests are quite far-flung.

In a “Honey, take care of the kids! I’m off to see Napoleon’s birthplace” excursion Friday, Jolie took Shiloh to Ajaccio, on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. The actress and her daughter strolled around the palm-lined Place Foch, past the pastel-washed Napoleon Museum – and even squeezed in a little shopping before local photographers discovered them.

No sooner had she returned home, then it was Brad’s turn.

Source: People