If you wanted to watch a woman that rose to the top rankings of chess, playing piece-to-piece against some of the greatest chess players of the world, you would probably think about watching The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix, but you might be disappointed to find out that Beth Harmon isn’t real. However, there was one film before the iconic miniseries that depicted the story of a real life female chess player, one that clawed her and her family out of poverty through the game, and that story is Queen of Katwe. As a Disney original film, it does go through plenty of the familiar beats we’ve seen in the company’s previous works, but Mira Nair’s direction and the excellent performances of Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo create an underdog story that feels so sincere, so heartfelt, that it reportedly inspired Ugandan teenagers to do better in their national exams.
A young girl overcomes her disadvantaged upbringing in the slums of Uganda to become a Chess master.
After meeting chess teacher and missionary Robert Katende, Phiona Mutesi transforms from impoverished drop-out into a world-class chess master, carving an escape from a life of poverty.
Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo are great, of course, but the newcomers in the cast are able to match them too, especially leading lady Madina Nalwanga.
Disney, I wish this was marketed better.
Oscars
2 wins, 6 nominations
