Stars: Woody Harrelson, Marisa Tomei, Kerry Fox, Stephen Dillane, Emily Lloyd, Juliet Aubrey, Labina Mitevska, James Nesbitt, Goran Visnjic, Juliet Aubrey, Kerry Shale, James Nesbitt, Goran Visnjic, James Nesbitt, Cesir Adi, Petar Arsovski, Senad Basic, Dijana Bolanca, Paige Brogan-Smith, Izudina Brutus, Sanja Buric, Frank Dillane, Igor Dzambazov, Pejdah Dzevad, Ines Fancovic, Gordana Gadzic, Ines Hadzovic, Davor Janjic, Brankica Jankoska, Vladimir Jokanovic, Peter Kelly, Nikolina Kujaca, Nino Levi, Dragan Marinkovic, Emira Nusevic, Vesna Orel, Viktorija Peceva, Milan Plistina, Joana Popovska, Natali Rajcinovska, Berina Salijevic, Haris Sarvan, Haris Secic, Drazen Sivak, Majda Tusar, Miralem Zupcevic

Director: Michael Winterbottom

Summary: The true story of British journalist Michael Nicholson and his time in war-torn Sarajevo reporting on the civil war. Nicholson decides to evacuate a group of children himself when all other help fails. One child is brought back to England.

Documentary footage of the horrific acts of 'ethnic cleansing' combines with the verite-styled story of a cohort of journalists torn between passively chronicling the atrocities and actively resisting them in this powerful film. An obsessive British reporter (Stephen Dillane) fights to keep the horrors of war alive in the minds of a public hungry for royal scandal, while an American colleague (Woody Harrelson) uses the conflict as a springboard to personal glory. WELCOME TO SARAJEVO, directed by Michael Winterbottom, was adapted by journalist Michael Nicholson from his memoir NATASHA'S STORY.

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Whether as a subject for historical investigation or social drama, the war in the former Yugoslavia is made for film, as 1997's Welcome to Sarajevodemonstrates. Inspired by the book Natasha's Storyby ITN reporter Michael Nicholson, this takes very much a human-interest angle on the conflict. Stephen Dillane plays a journalist whose involvement moves from the professional to the personal as he faces up to marauding Serbian mercenaries, then family ties, to get the apparently orphaned Emira out of Sarajevo and back to the security of his own family in the UK.

It could have been awash with journalists-are-good-guys-really sentiment, but director Michael Winterbottom is mindful to present the story in the context of the siege--some of the filming here is harrowingly realistic--and draws responsive performances from a cast including Woody Harrelson as a hard-living American reporter and Marisa Tomei as an aid worker determined to save children's lives at all costs. As a film about the "why" of the Yugoslavian war, Pretty Village, Pretty Flameis unsurpassed, but Welcome to Sarajevois a potent look into the "how".

On the DVD:Welcome to Sarajevocomes to DVD with a decent 16:9 anamorphic picture and Dolby Digital 5.1 sound that has the necessary immediacy. English subtitles are included, rightly so in a film of this nature. Special features include 30 minutes of interview snippets with cast and crew, "on location" sequences and three theatrical/TV trailers. --Richard Whitehouse

Aspect Ratio:	16:9 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Cast And Crew Interviews, On Location, Theatrical Trailer, TV Spot
Subtitles:	English
Year:	1997
Release Date:	June 7, 2004
Runtime:	97 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	C C D 8998
Label:	Film Four Distributors
Keywords:	General, Wide, Screen, Welcome, Drama, Sarajevo
Genre:	Drama