Asean star treatment: Lea, ‘Lara’ and a life of purpose

MANILA, Philippines, November 12 ------ One became the voice of Kim, the young Vietnamese mother in “Miss Saigon,” who gave everything for her child. The other became the face of Lara Croft, the fearless archaeologist whose adventures took her across the world, including to Southeast Asia.

Though Lea Salonga and Angelina Jolie made their marks in very different ways, their stories meet in a shared conviction: that a life of purpose is one spent looking beyond oneself.

For Jolie, 51, that conviction took on a more personal meaning when she became a mother.

Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Inclusive Growth Summit in Manila on Wednesday, the award-winning actress, filmmaker and humanitarian recalled how meeting her son at an orphanage in Cambodia—where she had filmed “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” in 2000 and later returned as a volunteer—reshaped her understanding of motherhood and humanitarian work. “I want to have an even more simple life to pass things to my children,” Jolie said. “It’s not a sacrifice to live a life for others—it’s a great joy.”

Her connection to Cambodia, however, grew beyond her personal experience of motherhood. Over the years, she developed a strong partnership with Cambodian filmmaker Rithy Panh, whose own life and work have been shaped by the country’s painful history under the Khmer Rouge.

A survivor of that period, Panh has devoted much of his career to documenting Cambodia’s past and ensuring that Cambodians have a voice in telling their own stories. Jolie, who first came to the country as a visitor more than two decades ago, eventually became a committed advocate for its people and communities.

Their collaboration reached a milestone with “First They Killed My Father,” the film adaptation of Loung Ung’s memoir about surviving the Khmer Rouge regime. The project was built on listening and trust, Panh said. “I used to say that don’t make a film about Cambodia, make a film with Cambodian,” Panh said during the panel with Jolie. “So that is typically the way that Angelina wants to work, so I was very pleased to go with her and make the film.”

Their partnership illustrates how listening to people and understanding their culture, history, and tradition could give communities a meaningful role in shaping their own futures. “I value these cultures so much, and it’s such an honor to be allowed to work in Cambodia to show their history, their talents, their culture,” Jolie said. “It’s a gift to be here.”

For Salonga, that same sense of purpose has played out on a different stage. From Manila to Broadway and beyond, the Tony Award-winning actress has helped bring Filipino talent to international audiences, showing how ASEAN’s creative industry can become both a source of cultural pride and a viable livelihood for its artists.

‘Backbreaking, heartbreaking’

She, however, candidly said that pursuing a career in the arts also requires a clear-eyed understanding of its difficulties. Having grown up in a family of artists, she said the profession can be as heartbreaking as it is rewarding. “It’s difficult. It’s challenging, and can be incredibly backbreaking and heartbreaking,” she said at a separate panel during yesterday’s summit. “But if that is what makes your machine tick, then by all means, go for it.”

Overall, Salonga believes that bringing ASEAN closer together through the arts starts with knowing one another. Recalling her childhood participation in ASEAN cultural exchanges, she said some of her fondest memories were meeting performers from across the region and getting to know them beyond the rehearsal room and the stage. “You got to get to know one another on a very human level, and not just see one another in rehearsal or in performance,” she said.

The ASEAN Inclusive Growth Summit was organized by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth in partnership with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council. The one-day event held at the Shangri-La The Fort in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, featured 30 sessions and 51 speakers.

Source: inquirer.net