Angelina Jolie Brings Kids To 2017 Telluride Film Festival, Gets Standing Ovation

Angelina Jolie was recently accompanied by her two kids, Maddox and Pax, at the screening of “First They Killed My Father” at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado.

On Saturday, the 42-year-old actress received a warm welcome after the special viewing of the film that she directed. Jolie, writer Loung Ung, the film’s cast and crew and the actress’ two children joined her on stage and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

According to Entertainment Tonight, Jolie’s 13-year-old son, Maddox, helped her with the film since he was also adopted from Cambodia in 2002. Two years ago, Jolie opened up about the project and said, “I was deeply affected by Loung’s book. It deepened forever my understanding of how children experience war and are affected by the emotional memory of it. And it helped me draw closer still to the people of Cambodia, my son’s homeland. It is a dream come true to be able to adapt this book for the screen,” she said.

But despite the positive reactions to Jolie’s film at the Telluride Film Festival, the actress first had to fight against the controversial accusations linked to the project by an article on Vanity Fair.

Last month, the publication released a transcript of Jolie’s interview with Evgenia Peretz regarding the casting process for “First They Killed My Father.” In the original article written by Peretz, she said that Jolie and her team went to specific places in Cambodia where children who have experienced actual hardships may be interested in joining the cast.

According to Peretz, the casting directors acted out a scene from the film with the kids for the audition. They placed money on the table, and the kids were asked to think of something that they could use the money on. Before they could get a hold of the bills, the money was snatched away from them.

A few days after Peretz’s article was released, Jolie released a statement expressing how upset she was over how the interview was translated into an article. “Every measure was taken to ensure the safety, comfort and well-being of the children starting from the auditions through production to the present,” she said.