Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyelowo star in the new trailer for Queen of Katwe
Queen of Katwe will hit theaters on September 23.
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Your support makes all the difference.Disney has released a new trailer for Queen of Katwe, the true story of a Ugandan chess champion Phiona Mutesi, starring Oscar winner and Tony nominated Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years a Slave) and David Oyelowo (Selma).
The sports film, directed by Mira Nair (Monsoon Wedding), is based on an ESPN Magazine feature which Tim Crother adapted into a book of the same name.
Nyong’o plays Harriet Mutesi, Mutesi’s mother, while Oyelowo has been cast as Robert Katende, a missionary who teaches children the game of chess. Katende helps the young chess prodigy, played by newcomer Nadina Malwanga, reach her pull potential and overcome her surroundings in the impoverished slums of Kampala, Uganda.
“Sometimes the place you are used to is not the place you belong. You belong where you believe you belong. Where is that for you?” Katende asks Mutesi in the trailer.
Nyongo'o recently said that the Ugandan culure surprised her and that she was excited to work with both Nair and Oyelowo.
“There is an ease in the Ugandan demeanor that is very welcoming. I love the melody of the accent, the food, the music and the people’s inherent style," Nyongo'o told Entertainment Weekly. "There was a familiarity with my home country being right next door but also complete surprise in what was so different."
She added: "There is a resilience of spirit in Uganda. The slum of Katwe is a very difficult place to live, but you see these people living there with dignity. To go there and to have that environment to work from really did give life and meaning to our work. It was research, obstacle and inspiration.”
Queen of Katwe will hit theaters on September 23.