Angelina Jolie denies 'cruel' Cambodia child auditions

Angelina Jolie has fiercely denied playing tricks on
Cambodian children while casting for a film.

The actress and UN special envoy recruited local
children to star in her film about Cambodia's
Khmer Rouge, First They Killed My Father.

She spoke to Vanity Fair about the film and
explained how they used a casting game which
involved giving money to poor children then taking
it away.

The interview caused outrage, with many accusing
Jolie of being "exploitative".

In it, Jolie explains how the directors looked
through slums and orphanages to find actors for
the film, and were "specifically seeking children
who had experienced hardship".

'Overwhelmed with emotion'
Their casting game saw children being asked to
snatch some money, and then when caught, come
up with a lie for why they stole it.
"Srey Moch [who was selected for the lead role]
was the only child that stared at the money for a
very, very long time," Jolie told the magazine.

"When she was forced to give it back, she became
overwhelmed with emotion... 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."

Angelina Jolie on Cambodia, politics and a
'difficult year'

Jolie, who directed the Netflix film, said it was
"false and upsetting" that people misinterpreted
her description of the casting process.
"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,"
Jolie said in a statement.

She added: "The point of this film is to bring
attention to the horrors children face in war and to
help fight to protect them. 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."
"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 said.

First They Killed My Father is Jolie's directorial
debut for streaming giant Netflix.
It is based on a true-life account of a survivor of
the Khmer Rouge genocide and is told through the
eyes of a child.

Jolie told the BBC earlier this year that she hoped
the film would help Cambodians speak more
openly about their period of trauma.
'Taken out of context'
Jolie's controversial account of casting drew
outrage among many, with social media users
calling it "emotionally abusive and cruel".

"Angelina Jolie has gone too far," wrote one
woman on Facebook. "For someone who
constantly declares her love for Cambodia and
children, this was a sick and depraved stunt she
pulled. Some philanthropist she is."
"Child abuse" was how one Facebook user
described it, slamming Jolie's "authentic methods"
of casting. "You are no longer welcome in my
world. You didn't realise you were dealing with
children with post-traumatic syndrome (PTSD) and
poverty?"
But some fans stood by Jolie's defence.

"This all sounds like it was taken out of context,"
said Nathalie Anderson. "She is a humanitarian
and I believe she would never traumatise children
like that."