Angelina Jolie sparks outrage with her 'cruel and unnecessary' method of casting Cambodian orphans

Angelina Jolie has come under fierce criticism for describing the casting of Cambodian children in her new film, in which the team gave the impoverished youngsters money and then took it away from them, awarding roles to the children who looked the most upset.

Jolie, a noted humanitarian and UN Goodwill Ambassador, spoke about casting the children in her latest film, First They Killed My Father, to Vanity Fair, revealing they travelled to orphanages, circuses and slum schools "seeking children who had experienced hardship".

The journalist writes: "In order to find their lead, to play young Loung Ung, the casting directors set up a game, rather disturbing in its realism: they put money on the table and asked the child to think of something she needed the money for, and then to snatch it away. The director would pretend to catch the child, and the child would have to come up with a lie."

Jolie continues: "Srey Moch [the girl ultimately chosen for the part] was the only child that stared at the money for a very, very long time.

"When she was forced to give it back, she became overwhelmed with emotion. All these different things came flooding back.

"When she was asked later what the money was for, she said her grandfather had died, and they didn't have enough money for a nice funeral."

But the revelations about her casting methods were met with outrage on social media.

The tale is a true-life story of Loung Ung and the horrors of Pol Pot's regime.

The 42-year-old, who has Cambodian citizenship after filming Tomb Raider in the country, was allowed to shut down the town of Battambang for days, received permits to land in remote zones, and was provided with 500 army officials to play the Khmer Rouge army.

Around 3,500 Cambodians participated as cast and crew.