How Jolie learned to be a mum

Unbroken, a film directed by Angelina Jolie about the plight of a US Olympian turned World War 2 prisoner, helped her understand motherhood, the Oscar-winning actress said yesterday.

Hundreds of fans crowded around the entrance to a Sydney cinema to welcome Jolie to Australia for the world premiere of her second directing effort.

Based on a best-selling book by Laura Hillenbrand, the film tells of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic sprinter who spent 47 days on a life raft after his plane crashed into the Pacific. He was then held for two years by the Japanese.

"I think that as a human being, as a mother, as someone who works internationally, I needed desperately to know a man like Louis Zamperini, to know there is hope," Jolie said.

She was able to show Zamperini an early cut of the film, which was shot in Australia, just before his death in July aged 97.

"The strength of a strong heart and an indomitable will is valuable," the mother of six 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 the dark times."

Jolie was joined on the red carpet by her husband, Brad Pitt, and by Jack O'Connell, who plays the part of Zamperini in her film.