As buzz grows around Angelina Jolie’s most recent directorial effort, First They Killed My Father, the film could become this year’s Oscar submission from Cambodia.
Based on human rights activist Loung Ung’s 2000 memoir of the same name, First They Killed My Father debuted on Netflix this past Friday with positive reviews from online critics and film festival crowds alike. The film also hit theaters in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap a week earlier on September 8, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Though the Cambodian Oscar Selection Committee has made no announcement yet regarding the country’s official decision, First They Killed My Father was among those considered, according to the news outlet, as its Cambodian screenings make the film eligible for submission.
Video via Netflix.
The two-hour, Khmer-language drama features a Cambodian cast and was produced with behind-the-scenes support from Ung herself as well as famed Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh. Thanks to Jolie’s star power, the Netflix-backed flick has also generated international interest – not to mention some controversy – however, the director maintains that the film was made primarily with a Cambodian audience in mind, hence its local release.
“We're making this first and foremost for Cambodia," Jolie told an audience at the Telluride Film Festival, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Whatever the reason, First They Killed My Father’s presence in Cambodian theaters puts the film one step closer to potentially collecting an Oscar for its home country.
