Angelina Jolie will direct Salma Hayek and Demián Bichir to star in what will be her fifth film as a director, a project called "Without Blood."

Jolie is making the film with super-indie Fremantle, with which she struck a three-year international filmmaking agreement in March. Principal photography has begun in the Puglia (Apulia) and Basilicata regions of southern Italy, as well as in Rome.

The film is based on the international-bestselling novel by Italian writer Alessandro Baricco, and set in the aftermath of an unidentified conflict. It’s billed as exploring "universal truths about war, trauma, memory and healing."

"Without Blood" tells an unforgettable fable set in the aftermath of an unidentified conflict, and it explores universal truths about war, trauma, memory and healing.

Without Blood is Jolie’s fifth directing project and the first under her Fremantle mega-deal, which will see the Changeling star produce, direct and star in a slate of films, TV series and documentaries.

Jolie said: "I'm honored to be here in Italy to bring this very special material to film, and to have been entrusted by Alessandro Baricco with the adaptation of his book - with its unique poetry and emotion and way of looking at war, and the questions it poses about what we search for after trauma or loss or injustice."

Source: Press Release