Angelina Jolie Premieres 'First They Killed My Father' in Cambodia, Writes NYT Op-Ed on Refugees, Supports Turkish Series On Refugee Family

On Saturday February 18, Angelina Jolie traveled with her children Maddox, 15, Pax, 13, Zahara, 12, Shiloh, 10 and eight-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne to Siem Reap, Cambodia for the première of her new film 'First They Killed My Father' based on the memoir of close friend Loung Ung. 

Jolie, whose eldest son Maddox was adopted in 2002 from an orphanage in Battambang, Cambodia gave a free public screening of the memoir-based drama. The Netflix film tells the story of the war time experiences of Angelina's friend Loung Ung, a Cambodian author and human rights activist, who survived the Khmer Rouge regime. Jolie has co-written the screen adaptation with Ung and acted as produce as well as director for the film.

Learn more about the incredible accomplishments of Loung Ung, named by the World Economic Forum, as one of the "100 Global Youth Leaders of Tomorrow" from the author's website:

Loung Ung was only 5 years old when the Khmer Rouge soldiers stormed into her native city of Phnom Penh. Four years later, in one of the bloodiest episodes of the 20th century, some two million Cambodians – out of a population of seven million – had died at the hands of the infamous Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge regime. Among the victims were both of Loung’s parents, two sisters, and 20 other relatives. In 1980, Loung, her older brother Meng and his wife, escaped by boat to Thailand, where they spent five months in a refugee camp before relocating to the United States in Vermont.

The memoir has been published in 14 countries and translated into German, Dutch, Norwegian, Danish, French, Spanish, Italian, Cambodian, and Japanese. Since 1995, Loung has made over thirty trips back to Cambodia and has devoted herself to helping her native land heal from the traumas of war. She has worked as an activist to end violence against women, child soldiers, and the Campaign for a Landmine Free World, and served as the spokesperson for the campaign from 1997-2005.

Loung was one of the writers of “Girl Rising, the 2013 groundbreaking documentary film directed by Academy Award nominee Richard Robbins which tells the stories of 9 extraordinary girls from 9 countries and their stories of forced marriage, domestic slavery, sex trafficking, and gender violence and the power of education to change their worlds. Each girl’s story was written by a renowned writer from her native country, and then narrated by celebrated actresses including Cate Blanchett, Priyanka Chopra, Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek, Alicia Keys, Meryl Streep, and Kerry Washington.

'First They Killed My Father' Trailer

Jolie said she decided to partner with Netflix because of the streaming service’s global reach. “Films like this are hard to watch but important to see,” she said. “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 is being released in both Khmer and English.

“We are proud to be with with Angelina Jolie in bringing this emotionally powerful and ultimately uplifting story exclusively to Netflix members around the world,” Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos commented. “Loung Ung’s incredible journey is a testament to the human spirit and its ability to transcend even the toughest circumstances.”

In addition to her staggering accomplishments, Ung is a co-owner of Market Garden Brewery in Cleveland, opened with her husband and college sweetheart Mark Priemer.

“Angelina and I met in 2001 in Cambodia, and immediately, I trusted Angelina’s heart,” commented 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.”

Angelina Jolie sat down with BBC's Yalda Hinakim to reflect on divorce, film and her deep love of Cambodia. The short interview comes on the heels of an op-ed published in The New York Times, in which Jolie, who is a special envoy for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, admonished President Trump for his controversial executive order that barred Syrian refugees indefinitely from America. The humanitarian has carried out over 50 missions, including several in Syria. 

“Refugees are men, women and children caught in the fury of war, or the cross hairs of persecution,” she wrote. “Far from being terrorists, they are often the victims of terrorism themselves.”

“Americans have shed blood to defend the idea that human rights transcend culture, geography, ethnicity and religion,” she wrote. “The decision to suspend the resettlement of refugees to the United States and deny entry to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries has been met with shock by our friends around the world precisely because of this record.”

Stressing that America's response should be measured and should be based on facts, not fear, Jolie reminded readers that the cause of refugees is very close to her heart. 

“As the mother of six children, who were all born in foreign lands and are proud American citizens, I very much want our country to be safe for them, and all our nation’s children,” she wrote. “But I also want to know that refugee children who qualify for asylum will always have a chance to plead their case to a compassionate America. And that we can manage our security without writing off citizens of entire countries — even babies — as unsafe to visit our country by virtue of geography or religion.”

“It is simply not true that our borders are overrun or that refugees are admitted to the United States without close scrutiny,” she added.

Turkish TV Drama on Syrian Refugees

Angelina has joined a planned three-season Turkish series called Hayat Köprüsü" (Bridge of Life), based on the story of a Syrian family seeking refuge in Turkey. 

Director Eyüp Dirlik said that the project was launched with the slogan "Either you stay there and die, or you come here and live". Dirlik also gave information about the casting, stating that international celebrities would visit Turkey's Gaziantep to support the project.

Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Fatma Şahin said that the series' plot was gripping, as it would include love, drama, family ties and the struggle for life.

Leading actress Perihan Savaş announced that the actual filming of the series would start this March in Gaziantep.

Expressing her excitement about the new project, Savaş stated that the series could also be seen as a lesson for humanity, telling the lives of Syrian refugees in Gaziantep and the city's hospitality. The Guardian profiled Gaziantep in May 2016.