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Angelina Jolie’s ‘First They Killed My Father’ Named Cambodia’s Entry for Oscars 2017

Angelina Jolie’s ‘First They Killed My Father’ Named Cambodia’s Entry for Oscars 2017
"First They Killed My Father" scene © Phoenix News

Angelina Jolie’s First They Killed My Father has been set as the Cambodian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Deadline reported late Sunday night that confirmation of the selection was imminent, and early Monday morning the Cambodia Oscar Selection Committee made it official. The Netflix title, directed and co-written by Jolie, is about author and human rights activist Loung Ung’s life under the rule of the deadly Khmer Rouge. It premiered in Telluride and then went on to Toronto where it won strong praise. The story is told through Ung’s eyes, from the age of five, when the Khmer Rouge came to power.

First They Killed My Father’s selection as the foreign language entry marks the first time such a high-profile American director has been the representative of another country in another tongue. It is also the 6th submission ever from Cambodia where the film held a premiere in February and was released September 8 in local theaters.

Jolie said in a statement today, “This means a great deal to all of us involved in making the film. To work with local artists to bring this story forward has been a moving and humbling experience.” Added Ung, “We were together when we received the news and it was very emotional. This has been a long journey for me, and while it is personal, it is also reflective of the experience of millions of Cambodians. We are very proud to be representing Cambodia as this year’s selection and share this moment with the country.”

Jolie and the main star of the movie | deadline.com
Jolie and the main star of the movie | deadline.com

 

Since 2005, Jolie has held dual U.S./Cambodian nationality. Her passion project was shot entirely in the country with an all-local cast. According to the Khmer Times, the film has been “hailed as a technical milestone for the local film industry, with the production employing thousands of Cambodian artisans, technicians and extras.”

In the U.S., First They Killed My Father was released theatrically on September 15 in the Top 10 markets, the same day it launched globally on Netflix.

The streaming service’s Ted Sarandos was asked by Deadline’s Pete Hammond recently about plans to have this film submitted by Cambodia for the FL Oscar contest, and he said he was confident it would happen. Jolie said the fact that First They Killed My Father might be submitted by the current regime was remarkable considering some of the things going on there now including attempts to shut down some of the media. “I am a western woman and it would be amazing if they could agree to send our film (to the Academy),” she said, adding it would be a powerful and surprising message of unified support from the government. Her son Maddox, whom she adopted in Cambodia in 2002, has an executive producer credit on the movie.

Jolie produces with Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh whose 2013 The Missing Picture was nominated in the Foreign Language race. That film was an autobiographical documentary — told entirely with clay figures — about Panh’s experiences growing up under the Khmer Rouge.

Loung Un | Goldderby.com
Loung Un | Goldderby.com

 

Panh said today, “I am very happy, and very proud, that First They Killed My Fatherwas selected by the Cambodia Oscar Selection Committee to represent Cambodia. Because the film is original and powerful. Because thousands of us participated in the film’s making and so, too, in writing a chapter of Cambodia’s collective history. And because this history doesn’t belong only to the Cambodia people; it is universal. Cinema also is a way to talk about the resilience and dignity of human beings.”

While there isn’t a clear line on the nationalities or places of birth of directors of the roughly 1,800 films entered in the Foreign Language category since 1956, one other U.S.-born helmer stands out: Rama Burshtein was behind the 2012 Israeli submission, Fill The Void.

Since the 1984 (57th) Awards, the rules for the category have stipulated that a submitting country “must certify that creative talent of that country exercised artistic control of the film.”

Here’s the updated rolling list of Foreign Language submissions:

2017 Foreign Language Film Oscar Submissions

    • Austria – Happy End – Michael Haneke
    • Azerbaijan – Pomegranate Orchard – Ilgar Najaf
    • Belgium – Racer And The Jailbird (Le Fidèle) – Michaël R Roskam
    • Bosnia and Herzegovina – Men Don’t Cry – Alena Drljevića
    • Brazil – Bingo: King Of The Mornings (Le Fidèle) – Daniel Rezende
    • Bulgaria – Glory (Le Fidèle) – Kristina Grozeva and Petar Valchanov
    • Cambodia – First They Killed My Father – Angelina Jolie
    • Chile – A Fantastic Woman – Sebastian Lelio
    • Colombia – Guilty Men – Iván Gaona
    • Croatia – Quit Staring At My Plate – Hana Jušić
    • Czech Republic – Ice Mother – Bohdan Sláma
    • Dominican Republic – Woodpeckers – José Maria Cabral
    • Egypt – Sheikh Jackson – Amr Salama
    • Estonia – November – Rainer Sarnet
    • Finland – Tom Of Finland – Dome Karukoski
    • Georgia – Scary Mother – Ana Urushadze
    • Germany – In The Fade – Fatih Akin
    • Greece – Amerika Square – Yannis Sakardis
    • Hungary – On Body And Soul – Ildikó Enyedi
    • Iraq – The Dark Wind – Hussein Hussan
    • Ireland – Song Of Granite – Pat Collins
    • Japan – Her Love Boils Bathwater – Ryota Nakano
    • Kosovo – Unwanted – Edon Rizvanolli
    • Latvia – The Chronicles Of Melanie – Viestur Kairish
    • Lebanon – The Insult – Ziad Doueiri
    • Lithuania – Frost – Sarunas Bartas
    • Luxembourg – Barrage – Laura Schroeder
    • Mexico – Tempestad – Tatiana Huezo
    • Morocco – Razzia – Nabil Ayouch
    • Nepal – Seto Surya (White Sun) – Deepak Rauniyar
    • Netherlands – Lalya M – Mijke de Jong
    • Norway – Thelma – Joachim Trier
    • Pakistan – Saawan – Farhan Alam
    • Palestine – Wajib – Annemarie Jacir
    • Poland – Spoor – Agnieszka Holland
    • Portugal – Saint George – Marco Martins
    • Romania – The Fixer – Adrian Sitaru
    • Serbia – Requiem For Mrs J – Bojan Vuletić
    • South Korea – A Taxi Driver – Jang Hoon
    • Spain – Summer 1993 – Carla Simon
    • Sweden – The Square – Ruben Östlund
    • Switzerland – The Divine Order – Petra Volpe
    • Thailand – By The Time It Gets Dark – Anocha Suwichakornpong
    • Turkey – Ayla: The Daughter of War – Ca Ulkay
    • Ukraine – Black Level – Valentyn Vasyanovych
    • UK – My Pure Land – Sarmad Masud
    • Venezuela – El Inca – Ignacio Castillo Cottin
    • Vietnam – Father And Son – Lương Đình Dũng
    • Country – Title – Director
Akhyari Hananto

I began my career in the banking industry in 1997, and stayed approx 6 years in it. This industry boost his knowledge about the economic condition in Indonesia, both macro and micro, and how to More understand it. My banking career continued in Yogyakarta when I joined in a program funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB),as the coordinator for a program aimed to help improve the quality of learning and teaching process in private universities in Yogyakarta. When the earthquake stroke Yogyakarta, I chose to join an international NGO working in the area of ?disaster response and management, which allows me to help rebuild the city, as well as other disaster-stricken area in Indonesia. I went on to become the coordinator for emergency response in the Asia Pacific region. Then I was assigned for 1 year in Cambodia, as a country coordinator mostly to deliver developmental programs (water and sanitation, education, livelihood). In 2009, he continued his career as a protocol and HR officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Surabaya, and two years later I joined the Political and Economic Section until now, where i have to deal with extensive range of people and government officials, as well as private and government institution troughout eastern Indonesia. I am the founder and Editor-in-Chief in Good News From Indonesia (GNFI), a growing and influential social media movement, and was selected as one of The Most Influential Netizen 2011 by The Marketeers magazine. I also wrote a book on "Fundamentals of Disaster Management in 2007"?, "Good News From Indonesia : Beragam Prestasi Anak Bangsa di dunia"? which was luanched in August 2013, and "Indonesia Bersyukur"? which is launched in Sept 2013. In 2014, 3 books were released in which i was one of the writer; "Indonesia Pelangi Dunia"?, "Indonesia The Untold Stories"? and "Growing! Meretas Jalan Kejayaan" I give lectures to students in lectures nationwide, sharing on full range of issues, from economy, to diplomacy Less
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