#Queen of katwe real story movie

'They never, not once, asked me to sanitise the film,' she says. Phiona Mutesi arrives at the world premiere of Queen of Katwe, a film based on her life. Nair brings great joy and colour to the film, without fudging the harshness of life in Katwe. Nyong'o, who grew up in neighbouring Kenya, is an alumnus of Nair's Maisha Film Lab, which Disney is now supporting. The film school she runs in Kampala has trained a generation of East African film-makers. Nair decided to shoot in Katwe, a major logistical challenge, but she was ready for that. I have always been drawn to stories of people who are considered marginal to society.' I had pretty much committed to it in any case, because the story is so remarkable. 'I met her within a couple of weeks вЂ“ actually in New York City, where she was playing Kasparov. 'We took a walk around my garden and he told me about the ESPN article, about this kid Phiona, who lived 15 minutes away in Katwe and went from a corn-seller to become a chess prodigy вЂ¦ and he asked me to make a film about her,' says Nair. Tendo Nagenda, a vice-president of production at Disney (whose father is Ugandan) wants to come over for tea. The phone rings at Nair's home in Kampala, where she has lived for 27 years. Credit:Edward EchwaluДЇast forward one year.

That tournament was the focus of an article by Tim Crothers in ESPN magazine, in January 2011.Дavid Oyelowo (Robert Katende) and Madina Nalwanga (Phiona Mutesi) in Queen of Katwe, the true story of a girl whose life changes when she is introduced to chess.

In 2010, she competed at the Chess Olympiad in Russia вЂ“ against 1000 players from 149 countries. In 2007, she won the first of three consecutive Ugandan women's junior championships. Then she beat the privileged kids at Kampala's most prestigious school. She was illiterate, but quick and aggressive on the board. Katende's chess club has produced a couple of champions, but none like Phiona. There was also the shy figure of Robert Katende, who started it all by teaching Phiona to play chess in a makeshift Katwe church in 2005. Standing beside her were the film's A-list stars, David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong'o, the director Mira Nair ( Salaam Bombay) and the 14-year-old Madina Nalwanga, who plays Phiona. That word confidence is key to her story. But then after some time I gained some confidenceвЂ¦' I had never experienced something of that kind. 'I was panicking at first when I saw it everyone was screaming my name. 'I never dreamed of something of this kind вЂ¦ especially the red carpet part,' she says. The Queen of Katwe debuted a day earlier at the Toronto International Film Festival.

#Queen of katwe real story movie

Now 20, she sits in a swanky hotel in Toronto, talking to press about the new Disney movie based on her life. At nine, Phiona Mutesi was selling corn by the roadside in Katwe вЂ“ the largest slum in Kampala, Uganda.