Hundreds of fans have crowded outside a Sydney theatre to welcome Angelina Jolie to Australia for the world premiere of her second directing effort.
Based on a best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand, Unbroken tells how Louis Zamperini - an Olympic sprinter - spent 47 days on a life raft after his plane crashed into the Pacific during World War II, and was then held for two years by the Japanese.
Jolie said directing the film helped her tackle motherhood.
"I think as a human being, as a mother, as someone who works internationally, I needed desperately to know a man like Louis Zamperini in my life, to know that there is hope," she said.
Jolie was able to show Zamperini an early cut of the film, shot in Australia, before his death in July, aged 97.
"The strength of a strong heart and an indomitable will is valuable and it's worth something," she said.
"We have to remember that and hold onto that because that's what will pull us through and it's what has always pulled people through dark times."
Jolie was joined on the red carpet by her husband Brad Pitt, and Jack O'Connell, who plays Zamperini in the film.
The mother of six told Vanity Fair magazine this month she was open to pursuing a life in politics, or public service.
Jolie's first film as a director, In the Land of Blood and Honey, was set during the Bosnian war and released in 2011.
Reuters
