Angelina Jolie is not one to shy away when a big task is put in front of her. Her dedication makes her adamant about what she wants to achieve and how she will come to achieve it. She has been both in front of the camera and behind it, understanding just how movies work and how to make them better.
One of her projects saw a very special vision which Jolie knew she had to execute, no matter what. The actress was ready to go to the exact people who would help her out, work on a much lower budget and so much more just so she could make sure First They Killed My Father was made in Cambodia with Cambodian actors only.
Angelina Jolie Picked Netflix Over Other Streaming Service For First They Killed My Father
Based on the book of the same name, First They Killed My Father follows five-year-old Loung Ung as she survives through the hardships brought before her when the Khmer Rouge had taken her family into labor camps. The movie comes from the memoir of Ung and Angelina Jolie was heavily inspired by it. The movie is directed and produced by Jolie, alongside Ted Sarandos also a producer.
“I wanted to educate people, I wanted to do this for Cambodia. I didn’t want it to be that small thing that disappeared. It will reach over 100 countries. I appreciate there are times people want to see a movie together at home. Because it’s very emotional and it’s heavy and they have the option of watching it on their own time. What I felt was best was to really get this message out.”
One of the many reasons the actress chose Netflix over any other production company was because of the reach it had. Not only that, approaching the streaming service would have guaranteed her movie being made no matter what.
Angelina Jolie Only Wanted Actors From Cambodia
The essence of the entire movie was something Angelina Jolie saw purely to be of Camobian heritage. So it would have not made any sense to get famous actors who weren’t even from the country to act in the movie. Moreover, she wanted the entire movie to be filmed in the country as well.
“They could have said, ‘Yes, but here are your restrictions: You have to do it in English, you have to ask someone who’s known from China to play her mother, you have to cut these things to make it a smaller number.’”
Netflix too seemed okay with the idea and so the process began to have the entire film being shot according to the actress’s vision. Even with it being a small-budget and smaller-scaled movie, it was the Oscar submission for the year 2017 from Cambodia and earned a lot of praise.
First They Killed My Father is available to watch on Netflix.
Source: IndieWire
