Synopsis
Queen of Katwe (2016) is Mira Nair's drama, and you can watch online on iFILM. A girl from a Ugandan slum picks up chess and rewrites the life she was born into.
It follows Phiona Mutesi, who sold maize on the streets of Katwe, one of the poorest corners of Kampala. One day she wanders into a session run by missionary and coach Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), who teaches the neighborhood kids to play chess. Phiona, played by newcomer Madina Nalwanga, turns out to have a startling instinct for the board, and with it a way out of the alley she grew up in. Her mother Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong'o) raises the family alone and fears this strange game that keeps pulling her daughter farther from home.
Nair shot in the actual streets of Kampala, and Katwe on screen breathes the way its people do. Nyong'o and Oyelowo anchor the film at two poles, fear and faith. It earns its uplift the hard way, through poverty, doubt, and losses at the table, never tipping into sugar. Stream Queen of Katwe (2016) online on iFILM.
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