The founder of the company Jose Angelo Films, Jose Angelo Gallegos, from San Francisco, California, spent three months in BiH last year and decided to record a movie about our country.
It is a documentary film about a trip to BiH. The film is named “Bittersweet Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
As Jose Angelo Gallegos said, he wanted to crush all the negative stereotypes about BiH in the US and the rest of the world with this movie.
“I wanted to show the beauty of this country and all the good people in BiH. My wish is to encourage foreigners to visit BiH,” stated Gallegos.
As he said, he also wanted to show to citizens of BiH that they are very good people.
Gallegos filmed the movie in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar.
1.Taking into consideration that there are, let’s say, 25 top destinations in the world, would you say that Sarajevo can be on a par with them?
I don’t judge a country by the attractions, wealth, or Instagram popularity. I judge countries by their people. The best travel experiences of my life have been because of the people. The people of Bosnia and Herzegovina are by far on the most genuine and grounded people I’ve met. For me its top 3 in my list.
2. What are the reasons people should visit Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as Sarajevo?
I think it has the most interesting culture in all of Europe. Combine that with beautiful landscapes and how safe it is, its perfect combination for any traveller to visit.
3. Can you remember something interesting/ eye-catching or something you saw for the first time in BiH?
I attended a korida near Banja Luka which I show in my film. Oh man! That was a culture shock for me! Luckily I was in good company and they navigated me through the festival. I kept thinking in my mind” how the hell did I end up here! I will never forget it!”
4.How would you characterize people from Sarajevo? Are they warm and welcoming?
It’s more than warm and welcoming. They have genuine hearts and look out for each other. And there’s an incredibly talented pool of people that haven’t unlocked their potential. I met so many incredible artists, entrepreneurs and chefs.
5.“I wanted to show the beauty of this country and all the good people in BiH. My wish is to encourage foreigners to visit BiH.” Please elaborate more.
There is huge potential for a strong tourism economy to grow in this country. I believe that by showcasing traveling stories to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the western countries, it can have a direct impact to the local economies. Every traveller I met here, loved it more than other popular European destinations. This can create new businesses and jobs for the people which they really need.
Interview by Zejna SY
