“Queen of Katwe” is a new Disney movie based on a true story about a girl, Phiona Mutesi, in the Katwe slum of Kampala, Uganda who learns the game of chess at a church-run community center and discovers that she has a world-class talent for it. David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o are winning favorable reviews as the teacher and the girl’s mother – but many others in the cast are actual residents of Katwe, where most of the film was shot. The chess program is still running, with even more students engrossed in the game, as photographer Julian Hattem found during a recent visit. As you can see, these kids aren’t the least interested in having their pictures in the Washington Post; the game is much more engrossing.
The Daily Office 