Meg Ryan will receive the Honorary Heart of Sarajevo Award at the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival in recognition of her contribution to the art of film.
Ryan will also present her latest film, “What Happens Later,” a romantic comedy that she directed and wrote, and in which she stars opposite David Duchovny. The Bleecker Street Media film marks Ryan’s second directorial effort following the 2015 film “Ithaca.”
Ryan will also present a special screening of her 1998 hit romantic comedy “You’ve Got Mail” at Coca-Cola Open Air Cinema in the Bosnian city, the same venue where this film was screened 25 years ago at the 5th Sarajevo Film Festival in 1999.
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Ryan will hold a masterclass moderated by Bosnian director Danis Tanović, best known for his Oscar-winning film “No Man’s Land.” This will seek to offer insights into key aspects of Ryan’s career.
Jovan Marjanović, director of the Sarajevo Film Festival, said: “Not only has [Ryan] charmed us all with her unforgettable performances, but she has also proven her prowess behind the camera as a director and screenwriter. It is our honor to present her with the Heart of Sarajevo.”
Ryan’s comedic appeal was widely recognized in her Golden Globe-nominated performance as Sally Albright in “When Harry Met Sally,” directed by Rob Reiner and written by Nora Ephron. She went on to star in Ephron’s hit romantic comedy “Sleepless in Seattle,” opposite Tom Hanks, garnering a second Golden Globe nomination. Her next collaboration with Ephron and Hanks was the romantic comedy “You’ve Got Mail,” for which she was awarded her third Golden Globe nomination.
Acclaim has also come to Ryan for her distinctive dramatic portraits, including her role opposite Denzel Washington as the first military woman nominated for a Medal of Honor in “Courage Under Fire,” directed by Ed Zwick, and her moving portrayal of a woman with a drinking problem in Luis Mandoki’s “When a Man Loves a Woman,” opposite Andy Garcia. For her performance opposite Kiefer Sutherland in “Promised Land,” which played at Sundance, she earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination.
The 30th Sarajevo Film Festival takes place from Aug. 16 to 23.
