Angelina Jolie's 'First They Killed My Father' fails to make Oscar shortlist

Dec. 15 (UPI) -- Angelina Jolie's critically-acclaimed First They Killed My Father failed to make the the 2018 Academy Awards shortlist for foreign language film nominations Thursday.

Jolie's film was filmed in Cambodia and was that country's entry for the foreign language film category. But despite the critical praise and emotional subject matter - the story is based on a memoir by Cambodian human rights activist Loung Ung, who lived through the brutal Khmer Rouge regime - the film was not on the final shortlist, USA Today reported.

When the Cambodia Oscar Selection Committee announced it picked First They Killed My Father as the country's Academy Awards entry, they praised it for exploring a "tragic period" in the country's history.

"Committee members as well as the Khmer community found the film to be cathartic, as it brought back memories often best forgotten," they said, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The countries and films that made the foreign language Oscar shortlist include:

Chile, A Fantastic Woman

Germany, In the Fade

Hungary, On Body and Soul

Israel, Foxtrot

Lebanon, The Insult

Russia, Loveless

Senegal, Félicité

South Africa, The Wound

Sweden, The Square