BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.,
July 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/
-- Angelina Jolie Pitt will direct an adaptation of First
They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, a
harrowing and poignant memoir from Cambodian author and human
rights activist Loung Ung about
surviving the deadly Khmer Rouge regime.
Jolie Pitt will direct and
produce the Netflix Original Film from a script she co-adapted with
Ung. Acclaimed Cambodian director and producer Rithy Panh, director of the Oscar-nominated Best
Foreign Language film The Missing Picture, will also be a
producer.
The film will be made available to members of the world's
leading Internet TV network in late 2016 and will be submitted to
major international festivals.
Loung Ung was five years old when
the Khmer Rouge assumed power over Cambodia in 1975 and began a four-year reign
of terror and genocide in which nearly two million Cambodians died.
Forced from her family's home in Phnom Penh, Ung was trained as a child soldier
in a work camp for orphans while her six siblings were sent to
labor camps. Ung survived and wrote First They Killed My
Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, which was first
published in 2000. Jolie Pitt read the book and contacted Ung
over a decade ago and they became close friends. Together
they adapted the book into a screenplay.
"I was deeply affected by Loung's book," commented Jolie Pitt. "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." She added, "It is a dream come true to be able to
adapt this book for the screen, and I'm honored to work alongside
Loung and filmmaker Rithy Panh."
Jolie Pitt's Cambodian-born son, Maddox, will also be
involved in the production of the film.
Netflix's global reach was a major factor in Jolie Pitt's desire to partner with the
streaming service. "Films like this are hard to watch but important
to see," said Jolie Pitt. "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.
"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," said Netflix Chief Content Officer
Ted Sarandos. "Loung Ung's incredible journey is a testament to
the human spirit and its ability to transcend even the toughest
circumstances."
"Angelina and I met in 2001 in Cambodia, and immediately, I trusted
Angelina's heart," commented author Loung
Ung. "Through the years, we have become close friends,
and my admiration for Angelina as a woman, a mother, a filmmaker,
and a humanitarian has only grown. It is with great honor that I
entrust my family's story to Angelina to adapt into a film."
Loung Ung is currently writing
her first novel, and is a co-owner of Market Garden Brewery in
Cleveland, Ohio. Since 1995,
Loung has made over 30 trips back to Cambodia and has devoted herself to helping
her native land heal from the traumas of war. Loung's other
works include Lucky Child and Lulu in the Sky.
She was also a contributing writer on the groundbreaking
film, Girl Rising.
First They Killed My Father will begin production later
this year in Cambodia and will
precede Jolie Pitt's filming of
Africa which focuses on
paleo-anthropologist Dr. Richard
Leakey's decades-long fight to save Africa from the illegal wildlife trade.
Africa was postponed to
provide additional time to get the script finalized and all
production elements lined up properly to provide for the ambitious
scope of the film. Jolie Pitt remains committed to making the
film and continues her strong support of Dr. Leakey, the people of
Kenya and ending wildlife crime
and the illegal wildlife trade
Jolie Pitt is currently in
post-production on By The Sea, an adult drama written and
directed by Jolie Pitt, starring
Jolie Pitt and Brad Pitt, that will be released by Universal
this year. Jolie Pitt recently directed Universal's
Unbroken, based on the life of Olympian and World War II POW
survivor Louis Zamperini.
Jolie Pitt made her feature directorial debut with In the
Land of Blood and Honey.
About Netflix
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