Faith and Film: Queen of Katwe
Movie Review by Fr. Tom Condon, O.P.
Queen of Katwe tells the inspirational, true story of Phiona Mutesi, a young girl from the slums of Uganda who becomes an international chess master. Based on a story in ESPN: The Magazine, the movie follows the story of Phiona over five years. Phiona lives with her mother Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o) and her siblings in terrible squalor. One day Phiona sees a man named Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) teaching children to play chess. He is also feeding the children cups of porridge. Intrigued, Phiona comes in the shed, along with her brother. Phiona is captivated by the game and begins to play. Teased by some of the boys because of her gender, Phiona persists in chess and eventually defeats them all. Robert recognizes Phiona’s great talent and begins to take her, along with her teammates, to tournaments, first in Uganda, then to other African countries, and even as far away as Russia.
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