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Alsharq Tribune- The UK News
Washington: At the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, Angelina Jolie shared a deeply personal memory about her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, and the Oscars.
Jolie attended the festival to receive the prestigious Maltin Modern Master Award, presented by filmmaker Ava DuVernay. During the event, she engaged in a conversation with critic Leonard Maltin about her decades-long career, according to People magazine.
The 49-year-old actress recalled the year her father, Jon Voight, won the Academy Award for Best Actor for Coming Home in 1979. At the time, Voight was separated from Bertrand, and their divorce was finalized a year later.
While Voight attended the Oscars with actress Stacey Pickren, Jolie's mother was at home with her two young children. "My mom was home with two little kids," Jolie shared. "Her dream was to be an actor. I believe my mother's mother also dreamed of being an actor, which is probably why she took her to the theater in Chicago all the time.
Jolie said Bertrand, who had given birth to her at a young age, watched the ceremony from their apartment. "She was divorced from a very famous man, home with her babies, watching him win an Oscar with the other woman," Jolie said.
The experience left a lasting emotional impact on Jolie, becoming a part of their family history.
"I remember thinking that [Bertrand] was there for me and my brother, and that was the choice she made," Jolie reflected. "How she must have felt that night has always stuck with me." Jolie also recalled her own Oscar win in 2000, when she took home the Best Supporting Actress award for Girl, Interrupted, and the deep connection she felt to her mother in that moment.
"To get off that stage, call her, and say, 'It's yours'—giving it to her was one of the best moments of my life," Jolie said, according to People magazine. She spoke about how her mother supported her creative ambitions, even after giving up her own dreams.
"My mother had to give up her dreams of a creative life, but she embraced that side of mine," Jolie shared. "She would write letters to my characters—'Dear Gia,' 'Dear Lisa Rowe,' 'Dear Lara Croft.' I try to imagine now what she would write."
At the event, Ava DuVernay presented Jolie with the Maltin Modern Master Award, honouring her contributions to film and her lasting impact on the industry. As for Jolie's current projects, Maria, in which she stars as the legendary opera singer Maria Callas, is currently streaming on Netflix.
