Actress Angelina Jolie Pitt has teamed with Netflix to direct an new original movie based on the Cambodian memoir of human activist Loung Ung, the OTT service announced Thursday.
The movie, First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers, will be directed and produced by Jolie Pitt from a script she co-adapted with Ung about surviving the deadly Khmer Rouge regime, said company officials.
Cambodian director and producer Rithy Panh (The Missing Picture) will also be a producer. Netflix will distribute the film in late 2016 and will then submit it to major international festivals, said Netflix.
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.”
Added Jolie Pitt: ““Films like this are hard to watch but important to see. 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.”
