Angelina Jolie-Pitt has been pictured working on her latest endeavour, a Netflix film version of the harrowing Khmer Rouge memoir First They Killed My Father.The actress and director was seen on location in Cambodia on Thanksgiving Day last week, speaking to members of the cast and crew in popular tourist town Siem Reap in the staggering heat.Covering up under a wide-brimmed hat, the 40-year-old Academy Award winner protected herself from the weather as she continued work on her latest directorial effort. Angelina is bringing human rights activist Loung Ung's 2000 memoir of the same name to life with her screen adaptation, which she has also co-written.First They Killed My Father tells the harrowing tale of Ung's life through the Khmer Rouge years, under the reign of dictator Pol Pot, and her escape from the 'killing fields' in the 1970s.The film will also star Angelina's 14-year-old adopted son Maddox, who hails from Cambodia: he'll also help out on the production side of things.The Unbroken director first expressed an interest in adapting the book after reading it over a decade ago.'I was deeply affected by Loung's book,' she said previously. '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.''Films like this are hard to watch but important to see,' she continued of the movie, which is set for release in late 2016.'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.'Ung has said of the adaptation, which will be produced by Cambodian film-maker Rithy Panh: 'Angelina and I met in 2001 in Cambodia, and immediately, I trusted Angelina's heart. 'Through the years, we have become close friends, and my admiration for her as a woman, a mother, a film-maker and a humanitarian has only grown. It is with great honour that I entrust my family's story to Angelina to adapt into a film.'
As the actress-turned-director was seen on location in the town, along with a host of extras and a bustling film crew, her teen son Maddox was also believed to be there, doing his bit to help. While Angelina is in the Southeast Asian country - where she expected to remain until January while working on the film - she has also accepted a post as the president of the little-known Cambodia International Film Festival. The festival held in the capital, Phnom Penh, runs from December 4 - 10 and is screening 130 films from 34 countries. 'Cambodia's rich history, long culture and talented people mean it has a huge amount to offer the region and the world,' the Hollywood star said in a statement issued last week by the festival. 'I'm proud to support the Cambodia International Film Festival and Cambodia as a home for vibrant and innovative filmmaking.'Festival adviser Cedric Eloy, head of the Cambodian Film Commission, said Angelina's role would provide moral support and help 'bring attention to the rebirth of the Cambodian film industry.'Cambodia's film industry was devastated by the murderous reign of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s.The regime executed artists, writers and filmmakers as part of its Maoist vision to eliminate the educated elite and transform the country into an agrarian utopia. More than 1.7 million people died under the regime. Meanwhile, Angelina recently teamed up with husband Brad Pitt on her film By The Sea, in which she both stars and directed.
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