Angelina Jolie Earns Standing Ovation for 'First They Killed My Father'
Angelina Jolie's film, "First They Killed My Father," earned a standing ovation at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado. The actress directed the movie based on the memoir of Loung Ung, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia.
Jolie and Ung wrote the screenplay together, which the audience found to be a "labor of love." Jolie took interest in Ung's memoir because of her eldest child, Maddox, 16, is from Cambodia and the film became a history lesson for her and her son.
"I wanted my son to know who his countrymen are," Jolie told the press during the Q & A after the movie. She also admitted that she was ignorant about Cambodia's history until she came across Ung's book.
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Netizens posted their praises on social media following the film's screening last Saturday. Many agreed that "First They Killed My Father" could be a worthy contender during awards season.
"I've admired aspects of Angelina Jolie's filmmaking across all her work," Indie Wire critic Erick John posted. "Now she's delivered her best." He gave the movie a grade of B+.
"[The movie] is Angelina Jolie's best directorial effort yet," according to The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg on Twitter. "Might well be a contender beyond the foreign language category."
The publication also cited that it is an overly tasteful film despite tragedy being its theme. Jolie chose to focus on filming images of beauty and lots of colors in telling Ung's story.
"My Cambodia isn't black and white pictures of graves and skulls," Ung told the audience in the Q & A. "My Cambodia is so green... it's monks, it's smiles."
"First They Killed My Father" is Jolie's fourth film since she decided to get into directing in 2014. Maddox helped complete the movie behind the scenes as well.
At the Telluride, all of Jolie's six children witnessed their mom getting a standing ovation. They sat together with Ung and the film's child actors Sareum Srey Moch and Kimhak Mun.
"First They Killed My Father" will launch on Netflix on Friday, Sept. 15, at 3:00 a.m. EST
