Meg Ryan proved that she does indeed have heart, as the star was honored on Tuesday, August 20, with the Heart of Sarajevo at the 30th Sarajevo Film Festival.
The screen icon, 62, looked radiant for her appearance at the festival, showing up in a chic gray knit dress with an a-line pleated skirt, a high neck and collar, and a cinched waist, paired with black buckled shoes.
Her signature blonde bob was styled into loose curly tresses and she opted for a dewy, fresh-faced look, wearing sunglasses on the red carpet before then making her way to the stage for the honor and her speech.
The Heart of Sarajevo is the highest honor awarded at the festival, and alongside prizes for films, actors, and directors, the honorary Heart is presented to distinguished individuals who have contributed immensely to filmmaking within and outside the region.
2024’s awardees, apart from Meg herself, included Palestinian filmmaker Elia Suleiman, actor John Turturro, and The Holdovers director Alexander Payne. The actress presented her latest film What Happens Later, which she directed, executive produced, and starred in, plus a screening of her iconic 1998 film You’ve Got Mail. Watch the trailer for What Happens Later below…
During her speech, the When Harry Met Sally… star spoke with the crowd about her gratitude for the festival, and also praised the citizens of Sarajevo for their resilience during the siege of the country during the Bosnian war, during which the festival was first created.
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She said: “I’m just so happy to be here and thank you face to face for the example during the siege. Those stories about how this community came together and how you dodged bullets and risked your lives to go see films, to make music, to dance to music, to sing, to be together…”Â
“You proved that art and culture are the resistance,” Meg added. “You are proof that diversity is power, that art is whatever makes you feel less alone, that art connects us beyond all limitation, and that there is no separation. It’s art, not war. Thank you so much for this heart, you have mine!”
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Meg also heralded a “masterclass” at the festival on the same day, speaking candidly about her directorial efforts and being the queen of rom-coms, as well as whether she feels being in her 60s has limited her opportunities in Hollywood.
© Getty ImagesShe said of the latter: “I don’t look at the downside very often. I am the luckiest person you’re ever going to meet. I don’t have feelings like I’m being denied anything. I have a charmed existence and I work with incredible people.”
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Meg said, per Variety, that What Happens Later was shot in just three weeks on a $3 million budget, and embraced what she saw as a challenge. “How fully can you see your limitations as opportunities?”
© Getty Images“We didn’t have a big budget. We shot in 21 nights. The movie had to have scope. We ended up shooting in a museum in Arkansas. We couldn’t control the extras — we had to use real people. All of those things were fun to try to figure out in this limited time on this limited budget.”
