Angelina Jolie gets back behind the camera to direct Without Blood with Salma Hayek in Rome

Angelina Jolie got back in the director’s chair for her latest film Without Blood in Rome on Wednesday.

The actress, 47, who is stepping behind the camera for the first time in five years, was seen offering her guidance for star Salma Hayek as filming kicked off for the period drama in an area close to the iconic Colosseum.

It comes as Angelina’s ex-husband Brad Pitt revealed he has embraced a life of abstinence and sobriety after the couple’s surprise divorce in 2016.

Dressed for the warm Italian weather, Angelina cut an elegant figure in a relaxed white vest top and flared trousers as she arrived on set for filming.

The star donned a straw hat as she directed the film’s cast for the dramatic scenes.

Meanwhile Salma donned a black velvet A-line dress with a white overcoat as she prepared to film the scenes on a flight of stairs in the city. 

Stylish: The actress was joined by the film’s star Salma Hayek on set in the Italian city, close to the iconic Colosseum, after the film was announced last week

Stylish: She donned a pair of brown Louis Vuitton sliders as she got behind the camera for her latest film along with an oversized straw hat to shield her head from the sun

Taking the reins: Angelina was seen guiding Salma through the scenes for the film, which is based on the novel by Italian writer Alessandro Baricco

Anticipated: The film is billed as exploring ‘universal truths about war, trauma, memory and healing’

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The star later changed into a more revealing black velvet dress with buttons along the bodice, teamed with an elegant pearl necklace. 

Without Blood is based on the novel by Italian writer Alessandro Baricco and is set in the aftermath of an unidentified conflict. 

The film is billed as exploring ‘universal truths about war, trauma, memory and healing.’ 

Progress: Angelina’s last film she directed was First They Killed My Father in 2017 which earned positive reviews from critics when it was released on Netflix

Glam: Salma later changed into a more revealing black velvet dress with buttons along the bodice, teamed with an elegant pearl necklace

Proud: Speaking after the film was announced, Angelina said: ‘I’m honoured to be here in Italy to bring this very special material to film’

Speaking after the film was announced, Angelina said: ‘I’m honoured 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,’

It comes as Angelina’s ex-husband Brad revealed he has embraced a life of abstinence that began shortly after their divorce was finalised in 2016.

Speaking to the latest edition of British GQ, Pitt, 58, insisted emotional turmoil and deep sadness are an inevitable part of growth. 

Candid: Speaking to the latest edition of British GQ , Pitt, 58, insisted emotional turmoil and deep sadness are an inevitable part of growth

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Devastating: ‘I think all our hearts are broken,’ he said. ‘I always felt very alone in my life, alone growing up as a kid, alone even out here’

Changing his life: Newly divorced, the actor spent 18-months attending regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings while embracing the group’s core principles of abstinence (Salma is pictured during the filming)

‘Private’: ‘I had a really cool men’s group here that was really private and selective, so it was safe,’ he explained

Cover star: Brad graced the cover of GQ Magazine alongside the candid interview

‘I think all our hearts are broken,’ he said. ‘I always felt very alone in my life, alone growing up as a kid, alone even out here, and it’s really not till recently that I have had a greater embrace of my friends and family.

‘What’s that line, it was either Rilke or Einstein, believe it or not, but it was something about when you can walk with the paradox, when you carry real pain and real joy simultaneously, this is maturity, this is growth.’

Newly divorced, the actor spent 18-months attending regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings while embracing the group’s core principles of abstinence from all mind altering substances, and honesty regarding the nature of addiction.    

‘I had a really cool men’s group here that was really private and selective, so it was safe,’ he explained. ‘Because I’d seen things of other people who had been recorded while they were spilling their guts, and that’s just atrocious to me.’ 

Pitt, a lifelong smoker, also made the decision to cut cigarettes out of his life, opting instead to substitute tobacco with nicotine flavoured gum. 

The actor has moved on following his divorce and has since been romantically linked with Nicole Poturalski, while winning plaudits – and awards – for his role as hapless stuntman Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. 

No more smoking: Pitt, a lifelong smoker, also made the decision to cut cigarettes out of his life, opting instead to substitute tobacco with nicotine flavoured gum (Angelina is pictured)

Over: Angelina filed for divorce from Brad in 2016 after 11 years together and two years of marriage