Angelina Jolie has defended her controversial casting process when recruiting Cambodian children to feature in her new film First They Killed My Father.
The filmmaker, best known for starring in front of the camera, was accused of ‘exploiting’ Cambodian children after she spoke to Vanity Fair about the film, and explained that while casting the leading role they used a game “disturbing in its realism”.
The game involved giving money to poor children from “orphanages, circuses and slum schools” and then taking it away to see how they would react.
“Srey Moch [the girl ultimately chosen for the part] was the only child that stared at the money for a very, very long time. When she was forced to give it back, she became overwhelmed with emotion,” she told the publication.
“All these different things came flooding back. When she was asked later what the money was for, she said her grandfather had died, and they didn’t have enough money for a nice funeral.”
The casting ‘game’ caused uproar, with people describing it as “cruel” and “emotionally abusive”.
Now, Angelina has hit back at critics by clarifying that the game was “a pretend exercise in an improvisation, from an actual scene in the film”.
“Every measure was taken to ensure the safety, comfort and well-being of the children on the film starting from the auditions through production to the present,” she told the Huffington Post.
“Parents, guardians, partner NGOs whose job it is to care for children, and medical doctors were always on hand every day, to ensure everyone had all they needed. And above all to make sure that no one was in any way hurt by participating in the recreation of such a painful part of their country’s history.
“I am upset that a pretend exercise in an improvisation, from an actual scene in the film, has been written about as if it was a real scenario. The suggestion that real money was taken from a child during an audition is false and upsetting. I would be outraged myself if this had happened.
“The point of this film is to bring attention to the horrors children face in war, and to help fight to protect them,” she added.
First They Killed My Father is set for release on Netflix in September.
