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I love any story about people who make something from what appears to be nothing." Nair was captivated by the story, stating, "I have always been surrounded by these local stories but hadn’t done anything in Uganda since 1991. With executive approval from studio president Sean Bailey, Nagenda went to visit Mira Nair at her Ugandan home to recruit her to direct a film about Mutesi. Tendo Nagenda, Walt Disney Studios' senior creative executive, developed the project into production. Published by ESPN in 2012, it was optioned that same year by Walt Disney Pictures. Tim Crothers wrote The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girl's Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster, which chronicled Phiona Mutesi's life. Maggie Benedict as Chess Federation Secretary.Russel Savadier as Russian Chess Official.Gladys Oyenbot and Rehema Nanfuka play minor roles as a shopkeeper and a nurse, respectively. Maurice Kirya and Ntare Mwine have supporting roles as Theo and Tendo, respectively. Nikita Pearl Waligwa as Gloria, Phiona's friend.Taryn "Kay" Kyaze as Night, Phiona's older sister.However, with the support of Coach Katende and the people of Katwe, she returns to chess, ultimately succeeding to the extent that she can purchase a home for her family. Phiona returns to Katwe, dejected and doubting her abilities. However, the competition proves too tough, and she yields to her Canadian opponent. Phiona leads the Uganda team at the Chess Olympiad in Russia, confident that she will succeed in becoming a Grand Master, securing the necessary finances to lift her family from poverty. The struggles of life in Katwe are ever present and Phiona hopes that chess will provide a means of escape from Katwe for her and her family.
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The film then proceeds to trace the ups and downs of success at competitions and tournaments for Phiona and her fellow Pioneers. However, their talent wins the day and Phiona comes in first place. The group initially finds itself ill at ease among the other participants and the more affluent surroundings. Her coach, over the initial opposition of the local chess authorities, takes her and the team to a national school level tournament at a prestigious local school. She becomes fascinated with the game and soon becomes a top player in the group under Katende's guidance. Curious, Phiona approaches and learns the game. Katende coaches soccer and teaches children to play chess at a local center. Her world changes one day when she meets Robert Katende ( David Oyelowo) at a missionary program. She also helps care for her baby brother. She and her younger brother help their mother sell maize in the market. The pressures of their life in poverty and Phiona's desperation to escape life in Katwe bring tension to the family.Living in Katwe, a slum in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle for 10-year-old Phiona ( Madina Nalwanga), her mother Nakku Harriet ( Lupita Nyong'o) and younger members of her family. The family is eking out a hand-to-mouth living by selling ears of corn in the streets, and Harriet has other problems, like her eldest daughter Night and Night's habit of riding around on a motorcycle with a thoughtless young man named Theo. Meanwhile, Phiona's mother Harriet (Nyong'o), is occupied with the desperate struggle of day-to-day life in the slums of Katwe, raising four children as a single mother after the death of her husband. Katende realizes that Phiona is a chess prodigy. Soon she is beating all the other kids in Katende's club. Phiona cleans up, enters the club, and learns the game. Phiona tries to enter the club, but the other kids make fun of her because she smells bad-Phiona and her family live in a shack without running water. Katende has started a chess club as an activity for the youth of the neighborhood. Into this slum comes Robert Katende (Oyelowo), who works for a Catholic mission. Phiona is a pre-teen girl living in Katwe, a desperately poor slum neighborhood in Kampala, Uganda. It is based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi (Nalwanga). It stars David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong'o, and Madina Nalwanga. Queen of Katwe is a 2016 film from Walt Disney Pictures, directed by Mira Nair.