Angelina Jolie says her new movie was inspired by the death of her mother from cancer
Out in theaters November 13, this intimate look at a couple struggling with their relationship, played by Jolie and Pitt, was written and directed by Jolie herself.
With the film having its world premiere at AFI FEST on Thursday, we'll know soon if the film looks to be able to grab awards nominations for Jolie, like her last directing effort, 2014's "Unbroken," or if it's seen as a vanity project by the couple soon to be forgotten.
One thing we do know is Jolie's inspiration for making it, and it may surprise you.
"I wrote 'By the Sea' because I wanted to explore grief," Jolie said in the video. "Much of the film and my character is very much about my mother, and my feelings about my mother."
Jolie's mother, actress Marcheline Bertrand, died of ovarian cancer in 2007 at the age of 56. Bertrand and actor Jon Voight are the parents of Jolie. In 1976, they separated and Jolie, along with her brother, went to live with Bertrand.
Jolie had always been close to her mother. She said once in a "60 Minutes" interview that Bertrand "was grace incarnate. I will never be as good a mother as she was."
In 2013, Jolie underwent a preventive double mastectomy after learning she had an 87% risk of developing breast cancer. She also had her ovaries removed for risk of cancer. Following the surgeries, she wrote an op-ed for the New York Times about her decision, and said: "I know my children will never have to say, 'Mom died of ovarian cancer.'"
Jolie says in the video that she hopes "By the Sea" will cause audiences to leave the theater still thinking about what they just saw.
"Everybody in the film represents a different way of addressing grief," she said. "Some have yet to experience it, some are able to come to terms with it, and some are overwhelmed by it."
Watch the video below: