The film "First They Killed My Father," directed by Angelina Jolie, has been nominated as the Cambodia candidate for the Best Foreign-Language Movie for the Oscars 2018. This year, more than 80 countries will submit a contender for the category, that will reveal its selection in January.
Based on the history of the activist Loung Ung, the movie chronicles the events of the war that happened in the Asian country between 1975 and 1979, when the Khmer Rouge ruled the nation. Ung was one of the children used for military purposes.
The movie's exclusive from Netflix, but the premiere happened at the Telluride Film Festival last month.
The movie has been available since last week via the streaming service.
Jolie and Cambodia
The actress-turned-director has a strong connection with the Asian country. Besides shooting the "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" movie in 2001, she worked as a volunteer at a refugee center for the United Nations program. She also got Honorary Citizenship in 2005 after adopting Maddox, her first child, from an orphanage in the country.
Jolie has a foundation in Cambodia that helps fund health care, education and conservation projects for the rural areas of the country.
Other contenders
With approximately 83 countries, the submissions are coming to an end for the 90th Academy Awards. The shortlist will be announced in December, one month before the Oscar Nominations.
Brazil's choice will be "Bingo - The King of the Mornings," the biography about one of the performers of Bozo, the Clown in the morning show. The movie was directed by Daniel Rezende.
Chile submitted "A Fantastic Woman," that chronicles the story of a transwoman who's treated as a suspect after her boyfriend dies suddenly. Austria chose "Happy End", with Isabelle Huppert in the cast and talking about the refugee crisis in Europe.
Ireland wants a spot at Best Foreign Language Movie with "Song of Granite", a biography of the Irish folk singer, Joe Heaney. Ukraine submitted the silent movie "Black Level", while the United Kingdom selected the Urdu language movie "My Pure Land". Spain selected "Summer 1993", about a little girl who starts living with her uncle after her parents died of AIDS.
Traditional contenders like France, Italy, and Denmark still haven't decided which movie will want a spot at the 90th Academy Awards. The three countries are already on the shortlist and will talk about it before October,1st.
This year will be the first time Ghana, Honduras, and United Arab Emirates will submit a movie for a spot in the category.
