Photo: Stefano C. Montesi

Angelina Jolie’s new movie is a family affair!
In the new issue of PEOPLE, the Oscar winner, 47, shares the first images ofWithout Bloodand talks about working with her sonsMaddox, 21, andPax, 18, who both had jobs on the Italian set of the upcoming drama she directed.
“We work well together. When a film crew is at its best, it feels like a big family, so it felt natural,” Jolie says of her boys. The two worked in the assistant director department, which serves as a liaison between the film’s director and the other departments of a movie.
Pax, who had previously collaborated with his mom on her 2017 dramaFirst They Killed My Father, shooting stills for that movie, also focused on behind-the-scenes footage forWithout Blood. “[He] worked hard,” she adds.
Stefano C. Montesi

Salma Hayekand Demián Bichir star in the drama, which production company Fremantle describes as “an unforgettable fable set in the aftermath of an unidentified conflict [which] explores universal truths about war, trauma, memory, and healing.”

Jolie is coy about the characters Hayek and Bichir play, but promises their performances are incredible: “Salma and Demián are very authentic and brave in this film. I had been a fan of their work. I knew they would bring solid commitment and craft to the film but honestly, they both blew me away.”

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Jolie says Hayek, her former costar in the 2021 Marvel movieThe Eternals, was “so raw and so authentic. She’s mesmerizing.”
Hayek had similarly high praise for Jolie when speaking to PEOPLE earlier this summer. Shecalled the filmmaker"probably the best director I’ve ever worked with."
Continued Hayek: “It was a tough film to do. And then somehow, it was a joy to suffer so much [because]…she was shockingly good.”

Jolie’s four other children—Spelman CollegefreshmanZahara, 17;Shiloh, 16; and 14-year-old twinsKnoxandVivienne, all of whom she shares with ex-husbandBrad Pitt, 58, did not work onWithout Blood.
What makes her the most proud of her increasingly grown-up kids? “I’m proud that they are all very much their own people,” she says. “Very different and still a very close family that learn from each other.”
source: people.com