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Cambodia selects Angelina Jolie film as Oscar submission

Angelina Jolie's "First They Killed My Father" has been named Cambodia's foreign-language submission to the Academy Awards.

The Cambodia Oscar Selection Committee announced the choice Monday, calling Jolie's Cambodian genocide drama "cathartic" and hailing it for bringing back memories "often best forgotten."

Angelina Jolie attends a special screening of Netflix's"First They Killed My Father" at the DGA theater on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)

Jolie directed the adaptation of Loung Ung's memoir about her childhood during the Khmer Rouge's bloody reign. She shot it in Cambodia with a local cast.

Jolie, whose eldest son, Maddox, was born in Cambodia, has been a citizen of Cambodia since 2005. In an interview with The Associated Press, Jolie said she made the film to "help a country to speak."

In this Sept. 11, 2017 photo, Angelina Jolie, left, director/co-writer of the film "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers," and co-writer/human rights activist Loung Ung pose for a portrait during the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Jolie's 2011 Bosnian War drama, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," was also nominated for best foreign-language film by the Golden Globes.

Loung Ung, from left, Kompheak Phoeung and Angelina Jolie attends a special screening of Netflix's"First They Killed My Father" at the DGA theater on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP)