The photos are behind the scenes on the set off Peel Island and of Jolie looking at the ‘rushes’ of the filming.

Unbroken which is directed and produced by Academy Award winner Angelina Jolie is an epic drama that follows the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis “Louie” Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) who, along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a near-fatal plane crash in WWII—only to be caught by the Japanese Navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.

Director Jolie began shooting some of the most dramatic and challenging scenes on Wednesday, October 16, on location near Peel Island in Moreton Bay, with Zamperini (O’Connell)and his fellow airmen—Phil (Domhnal Gleeson) and Mac (Finn Wittrock)— having impossibly survived being adrift in the open Pacific for several weeks.

The actors had been on diets for months to appear as depleted as their characters.

As reported by the Bayside Bulletin, the production crew worked with cameras on a floating rig in sometimes choppy waters, braving the elements.

Universal Pictures said Jolie completed a successful first day of a location shoot that promises to be rigorous and uniquely challenging.

Adapted from Laura Hillenbrand’s (“Seabiscuit: An American Legend”) enormously popular book, Unbroken brings to the big screen Zamperini’s unbelievable and inspiring true story about the resilient power of the human spirit.

Starring alongside O’Connell, Gleeson and Wittrock are Garrett Hedlund and John Magaro as fellow POWs who find an unexpected camaraderie during their internment, Alex Russell as Zamperini’s brother, Pete, and in his English-language feature debut, Japanese actor Miyavi as the brutal camp guard known only to the men as “The Bird.”

The film is produced by Jolie, as well as Matthew Baer (City by the Sea), Erwin Stoff (The Day the Earth Stood Still) and Clayton Townsend (This Is 40). Leading the accomplished behind-the-scenes crew is 10-time Oscar -nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins (Skyfall).

Academy Award winners Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men) rewrote the screenplay from earlier drafts by William Nicholson (Les Misérables) and Richard LaGravenese (HBO’s Behind the Candelabra). 

Unbroken arrives in Australian theatres on January 8, 2015.

Unbroken fllm facts

Genre: Epic Drama  Cast: Jack O’Connell, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund,  Finn Wittrock, John Magaro, Alex Russell, Miyavi Directed by:  Angelina Jolie Writers: Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, William Nicholson, Richard LaGravenese Based on the Book by:  Laura Hillenbrand Produced by:  Angelina Jolie, Matthew Baer, Erwin Stoff, Clayton Townsend Executive Producer: Mick Garris

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