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ENTERTAINMENT / 75<br />
African Highlights<br />
Biography<br />
Queen of Katwe<br />
A compassionate biopic that tells the story of Phiona Mutesi, a<br />
young girl from Uganda who, despite all odds, became her country’s<br />
first female titled chess champion.<br />
You’d be forgiven for thinking this film’s tie to Walt Disney Studios means director<br />
Mira Nair has softened her tone, but that is emphatically not so. Its subject, Phiona<br />
Mutesi, grew up in one of Uganda’s largest slums, but her life was transformed<br />
through the game of chess. Nair elegantly tells the story of Mutesi’s chess success,<br />
without glossing over the very real difficulties facing her family. The result is a<br />
rare thing: A film with a conscience and a Hollywood heart.<br />
Madina Nalwanga, David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o. PG, 124 mins, Director: Mira Nair<br />
“Disney never<br />
pressured me to<br />
sugarcoat or<br />
sanitise. I think<br />
of it as my film.<br />
It feels radical”<br />
– Mira Nair –<br />
Director of Queen of Katwe<br />
2016 Disney Enterprises, Inc.
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