The Oscar-winning actress said she wrote and directed the film, a love story set during the Bosnian war, as a homework giving herself to learn more about the history, reported Contactmusic.
"I didn't set out to ever become a director or write a script. I was never intending to make a film. I often give myself homework on different things; it's good exercise to get your mind working," she said.
Jolie, who also works as a UN special envoy, then began writing the film to help raise awareness of the situation.
"I've been travelling for over 10 years to these conflict and post-conflict zones, and thinking about what happens to people when they live inside these situations, and how their humanity is just stripped apart.
"I spent so much of the time bringing people back - like they're in the refugee camp and returning them to the place where they faced war. So I wanted to have a meditation on what this is and how people who are neighbours can turn against each other," she said.
