Angelina Jolie is ready to open up once more. The actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian is discussing her most recent film. "Couture," written and directed by Alice Winocour, follows Jolie as a film director who gets diagnosed with breast cancer. It's a film that's personal for numerous reasons, and that demanded one of Jolie's most vulnerable performances.
© GC Images"Alice is a wonderful director and approaches the stories of the women in Couture with sensitivity and hope," she said in an interview with PEOPLE.
"The film is not about an end for my character but rather about a renewed desire to live life until your last breath which particularly resonates with me at this time in my life," she said.
Jolie revealed that the story is a personal one and that came to her at the right time, when she could be able to submerge herself in the role and the story. "I am not sure I was strong enough even five years ago to do this. To be open and trusting to share and be vulnerable again," she said.
© Getty Images for VerticalJolie describes the film as a "beautifully written piece about women from different countries," which could serve as an important reminder for audiences.
"It has something to say that I thought could be useful to people, showing how everyone is dealing with things that make us very human, and that if we can figure out how to live through challenges by leaning on each other and having more empathy towards one another, the better and less alone we will be," she said.
Angelina Jolie's important connection with cancer
© Getty ImagesOver the years, Angelina Jolie has addressed the topic of cancer in various ways. Her life has been impacted by the disease, with her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, dying from ovarian and breast cancer in 2007. Years later, Jolie had a double mastectomy after testing positive for the BRCA 1 gene, which sharply increases the odds of experiencing breast and ovarian cancer.
"Couture" premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September, where she discussed the project alongside her co-stars and crew members. Following a screening, an audience member revealed that they'd lost a friend to cancer, and asked for a message of hope from the film.
"I think I will say that one thing I remember my mother saying when she had cancer, she said to me once, we had had a dinner and people were asking her how she was feeling and she said, 'All anybody ever asks me about is cancer," said Jolie.
"So I would say, if you know someone who is going through something, ask them about everything else in their life as well, you know? They're a whole person and they're still living.”
© Getty Images
