I read the campaign about the film ‘Drive’, and about how it deserved an Oscar nomination. And I was a part of that campaign. But now, after experiencing this film in Bosnia Herzegovina, in Sarajevo, 40 minutes from Italy, my own country, I feel like screaming another truth. I don’t say this lightly, but tonight, for the first time in my life I feel slightly ashamed of being a filmmaker.

I feel that this film is one of the reasons why I became a filmmaker myself. To tell stories that deserve to be told, to tell stories that touch people’s heart. This film has all of this and more. And yet, I feel ashamed that a fellow Director/Producer, somebody straight out of the Olympus of film-making, married to another Hollywood God, Brad Pitt himself, doesn’t get the credit she deserves after making what is clearly a masterpiece. How on earth did this film not even get an Oscar nomination? No nominations for anything, apart from the Golden Globe?

Shame on filmmakers who are prepared to tell stories just to amuse themselves and to just make money. Shame on viewers who got anesthetized from real, gut-wrenching stories and prefer to just close their eyes and go with the average. Shame on the academies of all the countries that ignore such a brave film, a film made for all the right reasons, a film that honours filmmaking, what it means, and what it’s meant to stand for. I’d love to see more films like ‘The Land of Blood and Honey’ getting made, getting distributed and getting recognition across the world. If not, what is filmmaking all about?

3.8 stars on IMDB? IMDB, for the first time, I am ashamed of you too. Do we just live in a blind world?