Angelina Jolie's new film is born out of a deeply personal story and, according to the actress and director, is connected to a "very difficult period" in her life. In "Bloodless," which opens in theaters on September 18, Salma Hayek Pino and Damian Bichir star as two people who are reunited after years of war and trauma. Jolie told PEOPLE that work on the emotional adaptation of Alessandro Barrico's 2002 novel of the same name began ten years ago. "Someone gave me this book ten years ago. I was going through a difficult period in my life, and it was one of the few things I had in my luggage," recalls the actress, who is raising six children. The actions of Barrico's book take place after the war, and at that moment the story unexpectedly became a source of inspiration for Jolie. “I was going through a difficult time and this book became a way for me to heal. I wrote the script just to be with this story, to live it," explains the Oscar winner. However, Jolie never expected to ever see her script on the big screen. "I never seriously thought that it would be filmed. I didn't write it with the intention of showing it to anyone," he admits. A few years later, Jolie was asked if she had any finished material, but she did not immediately dare to take the director's chair herself. “I knew that this story would be very difficult to approach and it is a film full of challenges. And I couldn't have made it without great actors,” he says. One of them was Salma Hayek Pino. The actress agreed to take on the project knowing that Jolie would direct it. Hayek calls Jolie "a fantastic director, but also a friend." He describes the conversations they had while developing the nuances of the film "Without Blood" as "amazing". "I like his way of thinking and I understand him. So when you know that someone understands you, you feel safe and you can be yourself no matter what," says 60-year-old Hayek. The film "Without Blood" centers on Nina, played by Hayek, and Tito, played by Bichir. They are confronted by the violence that happened years ago and try to come to terms with its devastating effects. According to Jolie, experiencing conflict can change a person's destiny forever. "Conflict changes the course of your life. We return to where we broke and find ourselves in this endless cycle. The better we understand this about ourselves as people, the more we can change, correct our path, or try to understand where we need the right answers," Jolie noted. The premiere of the film took place at the Toronto International Film Festival. "Bloodless" will be shown in cinemas on September 18.