Angelina Jolie Pitt is teaming up with streaming service Netflix for her next directing venture, a true-life drama about Cambodia’s deadly Khmer Rouge regime, according to a report from Variety. The Academy Award-winner will also be co-writing the adaptation of Cambodian author and human rights activist Loung Ung’s 2000 memoir “First They Killed My Father: A Daughter Of Cambodia Remembers” as a Netflix Original film. Jolie, who last directed “Unbroken,” has been working on the adaptation of the book of life under the murderous Khmer Rouge for several years since reading it and reaching out to Ung more than 10 years ago.
Jolie’s 13-year-old adopted son Maddox, who was born in Cambodia, will also have a role in the upcoming film. Oscar-nominated Cambodian film-maker Rithy Panh, best known for 2014’s The Missing Picture, is a producer of the film.
First They Killed My Father centers on Ung’s early childhood in Cambodia as the Khmer Rouge consolidated power in the country. The memoir focuses on her harrowing experiences being trained as a child soldier in a work camp for orphans while her six siblings were sent to labor camps.
Jolie Pitt said she decided to partner with Netflix because of the streaming service’s global reach. “Films like this are hard to watch but important to see,” she said. “They are also hard to get made. Netflix is making this possible, and I am looking forward to working with them and excited that the film will reach so many people.” The film will be released in both Khmer and English.[blockquote cite=”Angelina Jolie Pitt” type=”left”]“I was deeply affected by Loung’s book. It deepened forever my understanding of how children experience war and are affected by the emotional memory of it. And it helped me draw closer still to the people of Cambodia, my son’s homeland. It is a dream come true to be able to adapt this book for the screen, and I’m honoured to work alongside Loung and film-maker Rithy Panh.”[/blockquote]
“We are proud to be (working) with Angelina Jolie in bringing this emotionally powerful and ultimately uplifting story exclusively to Netflix members around the world,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos commented. “Loung Ung’s incredible journey is a testament to the human spirit and its ability to transcend even the toughest circumstances.”
The film will begin production on site in Cambodia later this year and will be released in 2016.
Source: Variety
