Angelina Jolie Made Orphans Play 'Disturbing' Game During Casting Of Her New Movie

In an interview published in Vanity Fair Wednesday, Angelina Jolie provided some head-scratching revelations, including a disturbing game that casting directors played with orphans on her latest directorial effort, "First They Killed My Father," which is slated to hit Netflix later this year.

Casting directors created what the publication deemed as a "disturbing" game to find their lead, forcing the orphans to stare at money placed before them on a table and think about something they could use it for. The casting directors would then swipe the money off of the table.

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Based off the book of the same name, "First They Killed My Father" recounts the experiences of Loung Ung as a young girl who lived through the Khmer Rouge years, a four-year political period that resulted in the deaths of millions of Cambodians. Ung also penned the film's screenplay with Jolie.

Jolie used unique venues to scout talent for her directorial venture. Orphanages, circuses and impoverished schools were some of the places scouted to find children who had experienced extreme adversities. Casting directors settled on Sareum Srey Moch, who had stared at the money in the casting game more intensely and longer than any of the other auditioned candidates.

"Srey Moch was the only child that stared at the money for a very, very long time," Jolie told Vanity Fair. "When she was forced to give it back, she became overwhelmed with emotion. All these different things came flooding back."

Jolie reportedly began to tear up, then added, "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."

Pain and emotion were awakened from everyone on the set, causing some to reportedly have flashbacks and nightmares. A therapist was in attendance on set every day, as a result.

"There wasn’t a person who was working on the movie who didn’t have a personal connection," Jolie said. "They weren’t coming to do a job. They were walking in the exodus for the people whom they had lost in their family, and it was out of respect for them that they were going to re-create it . . . It completed something for them."

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Jolie created this film to properly illustrate Ung's story, someone who the actress-director considers to be a "dear friend," according to a featurette she did on the film with Netflix. However, she also made this film to educate her eldest son, Maddox, who she adopted from Cambodia in 2002 when he was 7 months old. Maddox was also recruited by Jolie to cultivate the film's script because "this film is through the eyes of a child."

"Loung is a dear friend of mine, who I met over 15 years ago. Reading her book taught me a lot about this country," Jolie said in the Netflix featurette. "So, in a way, I am doing this for her, her family, for Cambodia and very much also for Maddox so he learns about who he is and knows who is people are."

Ung said, "This is not just a story of my family, but it's a story of a nation — I wasn't going to trust it to anybody." The film's producer Rithy Panh also added, "Angelina has quite a special relationship with this country. She really feels things, so it becomes very interesting to work as a producer on the project."

A representative for Jolie did not immediately return International Business Times' request for comment.

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