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Phiona Mutesi and Robert Katende: Learning More Than Chess #QueenOfKatweEvent

Lolli — Fri, 30 Sep 2016 15:50:13 +0000

I was invited to Los Angeles to attend a press day and the red carpet premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe (see my experience HERE, my movie review HERE, my intimate, emotional interview with Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga, and Martin Kabanaza HERE, and my interview with Producer Mira Nair HERE).

Travel and accommodations were covered by Disney, but all thoughts are my own. Movie photos courtesy of Disney. Interview photos courtesy of Carol Jones / All Mommy Wants. Amazon affiliate links are included within this post.

I am so thrilled that Queen of Katwe is finally in theaters for everyone to see, because I think it is a movie that everyone SHOULD see. Even though I’ve already seen it twice, I am gladly taking my whole family to see it this afternoon…and I can’t wait!

Seeing Queen of Katwe for the first time was an emotional and moving experience, but seeing it the second time, after meeting the people involved in the movie – and especially the real Phiona Mutesi and Robert Katende, about whose story the movie is based – was profound. I hope that I can convey at least some of the emotion that I felt while listen to Phiona and Robert here.

3 of the original “Pioneers” and Coach Robert Katende

One of the most moving statements of the interview came from Phiona when she was asked what it was like to see her story on the big screen. Her response? “I liked it when I saw it. I couldn’t think that I was watching myself. But it was my first time in the big theater. I’ve never been in such a situation. I feel like I shouldn’t be there. Like, shouldn’t it be someone else?”

We assured her that she was exactly where she was meant to be. Her story is one that needed to be told. Her story is one that needs to be seen and felt.

Phiona Mutesi at the U.S. premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Tuesday, September 20, 2016. (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

What life lessons can be learned from chess?

I don’t know much about chess. In fact, despite my son’s skill at playing the game, I’ve never quite “got it.” So don’t think that you need to know or appreciate chess to appreciate Queen of Katwe. This movie uses chess as a vehicle to convey many important life lessons.

Photo from Robert Katende of some of his Pioneers playing chess

Robert Katende said, “There are several, actually. You can tackle abstractive thinking, problem solving, decision making, weighing options, and even responsibility because chess kind of mentors you in finding value and where you have to get comfortable with your decisions, and don’t simply make moves.”

“You should have a plan, you should have an objective, an activity objective. It gives you an opportunity to have ideas and try to figure out how to bring them to reality. So you must get input in the integration of these values and principles from the game into your lifestyle.”

The Value of a Mentor

My husband likes to say “be the person you needed when you were their age.” Mentors can have powerful, lasting influences on children, and Coach Katende has certainly been an inspiring mentor for many children in Katwe.

Robert Katende said that being a mentor has helped him learn how to be a better father. Being a mentor to the chess children taught him about tolerance, patience, and embracing each person’s abilities.

He said, “When it comes to the programs, it’s not so much entailed on chess but it’s more of focusing on an individual. And if the child is different- they have different abilities; different perspectives of life, and now you find yourself in this dilemma where you have to look at each child as an individual. To me, it’s more of a community investment. You really choose to be in there and see how this is important to them.”

He has noticed through the years of mentoring the chess program that some turn out to be natural leaders and end up mentoring the other children.

“When it comes to mentorship, I many times find myself going beyond the actual child, and going even to the people behind the child. Sometimes once you see (what) this child (is) going through, they’re just symptoms, and they have a cause behind it.”

Katende has taken his role of mentor to heart, welcoming many of the children in his chess program into his home.

“So it’s now more like a big family. But mentorship is not something really you can just say it’s on and then off. It’s an ongoing process. And it’s not like, I will come and teach you, and then go away, but you allow them to learn your weaknesses, to learn how you face difficulties, how you respond to them.”

“It’s not a short case kind of situation, but you’re more like living with them on a daily basis, and they learn the positive way how to react to grief; how to respond to calamities if they occur. (Sometimes) you are their only model. They’re there to pick every lesson from you- so they become part of you.”

“They are there; they are part of you; they give you a call; they come; they say, ‘Coach, we need to come.’ So it is an ongoing selfless living, but for the purpose of trying to see how best you can support.”

Phiona Mutesi and Robert Katende at the U.S. premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Tuesday, September 20, 2016. (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Lessons on Fear and Disappointment

It was interesting to see how Phiona reacted in the movie to her first big loss. It’s tough to deal with fear and disappointment, and the lessons that Queen of Katwe taught about perseverance are powerful.

Robert Katende said that he has had to remind his chess group many times about the hardships and struggles that he overcame early in his life. The book goes into much greater detail about the earlier life of Robert Katende but the movie does touch on his story just enough that you know that he has not come from a life of privilege. In fact, he truly does understand his children from the slums of Katwe.

Robert Katende, Sara Katende, Phiona Mutesi and Hope Katende (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

He said, “I’m a typical orphan; I never knew that things would ever change. But in every case, I had to keep on trying. I’d rather try than fail to try, and then say it didn’t work out.”

“So you ask many times, why should I really (try)? If it doesn’t happen, I will have done my part. So that’s the kind of approach I take.”

Phiona Mutesi went on to say, “My reaction whenever I would lose a game, most of the time I would cry. When I was in Uganda, I could do most of my games, so here I am; I’m coming to Russia; I thought everything is going to (be the same). Yet, I forgot about that this is different experience from Uganda and so from that, I think I got an experience- a great one, so it doesn’t affect me anymore. Whenever I lose, it’s just part of the game. I just had to learn from that.”

Phiona’s Advice to Young Girls That Are Scared of Taking Risks

“I’ll say, most people when they’re having problems, it just takes hope. Have hope in everything you’re doing, and just be hard working. Have a dream, I want to be this in my life.”

Decide where you want to be, who you want to become, work hard, and just do it. Good advice!

Robert Katende at the U.S. premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Tuesday, September 20, 2016.(Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Queen of Katwe is now in theaters everywhere. Please go see it & take your family!

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Exclusive Interview with Director Mira Nair #QueenOfKatweEvent

Lolli — Thu, 29 Sep 2016 15:58:11 +0000

Every one once a while I have an experience that changes me forever. The #QueenOfKatweEvent was one of those experiences for me. I was invited to Los Angeles to attend a press day and the red carpet premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe (see my experience HERE and my movie review HERE and my intimate, emotional interview with Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga, and Martin Kabanaza HERE).

There’s something special about a filmmaker working on a movie that takes place in her own community. I was inspired by the story of how Mira Nair came to be the director of Queen of Katwe, and how involved she has been both in the actor’s lives but also the lives of the real Phiona Mutesi, Robert Katende, and the other children involved in his chess club.

This featurette, with Mira, Lupita Nyong’o, and David Oyelowo says it all so well. I love to see the passion and emotion that this movie evokes from those involved in making it.

How Mira Nair Got Involved in Queen of Katwe

Mira explained how she got involved in Queen of Katwe: “I’ve been living in Kampala now 27 years, ever since I made Mississippi Masala there in 1989. I started my life there; I fell in love and had a son and planted gardens and created a film school called Maisha. And the slogan of Maisha is ‘If we don’t tell our own stories, no one else will.'”

Even though Mira lived just 15 minutes from Phiona Mutesi, she had not heard about her until a man named Tendo Nagenda, who was visiting Uganda for a family reunion, approached her with the story. She said, “There are so few images of Africa on any screen anywhere and when there are, it’s usually death, despair, dictators, bestiality. And, so, we created the film school (Maisha), because we have to make the dignity and the joy of everyday life in our street in Kampala, anywhere. Be specific. Be local. Be truthful. And be excellent. But it was such irony that despite my being surrounded by local stories for 12 years — we have 680 alumni students now, we have several directors we have created from East Africa — that this story of Phiona Mutesi, who lived 15 minutes from home — I did not know about her.”

I was able to meet Tendo Nagenda as well!

When Tendo Nagenda visited Mira, she said, “he showed me this little article about Phiona in the ESPN journal, about this child who sold corn in Katwe, who now was heading to becoming a chess prodigy and going to the Olympics in Russia. And I was completely struck by the story and I said I’d love to meet Phiona first. I met her (in New York) with Robert Katende and we had such a lovely connection instantly, because we are Ugandan and we were joking, slanging, everything.”

Mira and Harriet

Mira then went on to meet Phiona’s mother, Harriet, who took her to each of the places their family had lived after her husband died. Mira said, “When I saw the trajectory of the actual struggle – the homelessness, her fierceness to keep her family together against all the odds, it just was so deeply moving and great, because she was full of courage and full of pragmatism. You know, she was not a defeated woman by any means.”

I loved hearing Mira’s story about the first time Harriet came to Mira’s home in Kampala. She explained, “I have a dinner for all the students who come to my school once a year. I invited Harriet and Phiona and everyone that year. They came to my home and, you forget when you live in a home with a garden, you think people have seen a home with a garden, but not Harriet.”

Director Mira Nair on the set of Disney’s QUEEN OF KATWE with David Oyelowo and Lupita Nyong’o. The vibrant true story of a young girl from the streets of rural Uganda whose world changes when she is introduced to the game of chess, the film also stars newcomer Madina Nalwanga.

“She had never been in a place like that, a home and my garden. I’m a real gardener. I have a nursery. I create my own plants. I create tree nurseries, everything. And so, she looked at the garden very quietly and I said, ‘I would love to come and plant your garden.’ And she just looked very quiet and she said, ‘It is because I have seen your garden that I will allow you to plant mine.'”

The next day, Mira loaded her pickup truck with 80 plants and planted Harriet’s garden. Now, every time a flower blooms, Harriet snaps a picture on the smartphone that someone gifted her and sends it to Mira. Harriet does not speak English, but only Luganda, the language of Uganda, so their garden has become a lovely connection between the two women.

The Challenges of Bringing Queen of Katwe to Life

Mira said that the biggest challenge (she described it as the “most beautiful challenge”) of making Queen of Katwe was “to distill the love and familiarity I have with my own home, my adopted home of Uganda, the people, the sassiness, the vibrancy, the style of Uganda.”

“I wanted to capture that sort of emphasis of no matter what we don’t have, we will put forward something that is excellent, and so the great challenge was to capture that sense of what we call in slang in Kampala ‘lifist,’ somebody who embraces life fully and doesn’t complain about what you don’t have. If you have half an inch of water, you will wash your hair, and no one will know that you had a struggle.”

“This the quality of what I live around and this is the quality that I hoped to capture. And, of course, Phiona, in her real remarkably and utterly true story, gives us so much of that.”

Director Mira Nair on the set of Disney’s QUEEN OF KATWE with Madina Nalwanga.

The other thing that Mira was determined to convey in Queen of Katwe was that you cannot do it alone. She said, “You have to have the fire in you, but it takes a village. It takes a teacher to see your talent. It takes a mother to shepherd you.”

I love the quiet determination both mother and child have in the movie. Mira said, “Phiona proves to her mother quietly and steadily that it is possible — with a teacher like this, with a community like this, with a street like this, with a family like this — it is possible to achieve what you could dream for. That is the beauty of life there. It’s not just one girl’s story, but what I call the prismatic story, the story of the whole street, the story of the family, the story of the mother and the complexity of every character.”

Learning Chess. And Learning FROM Chess

Although Mira’s son was a competitive chess player when he was younger, making her very familiar with the world of competitive chess, it was Phiona who taught her how to play the game prior to shooting the film.

“I was part of the chess circle, but I didn’t really know chess well. I understood it, but I didn’t really play it. Phiona taught me chess prior to the shooting. And, she would just laugh at me, because I was reckless and I would, I would just move the pieces. And she would say, ‘Ahhh, Mira, you must consider the other side of the board.'”

We all laughed because we recognized that line from the movie.

Mira went on, “I said, ‘That’s a great line, Phiona.’ It’s like a metaphor for the world.” Yes, we really should consider the other side of the board more often!

Casting the Children of Queen of Katwe

One of my favorite things about the movie was the fact that they cast children from the surrounding areas. These were real children who knew the life and the culture.

Mira said, “I always work a lot with non-actors, people who have never faced the camera before, opposite legends like Denzel Washington, and in this case Lupita and David. That alchemy between the the purity and lack of artificeof a child actor, of a child really, not even an actor, opposite a legend who has a lot of tricks to their trade and all those tricks kinda have to drop off when you’re faced with the purity and freshness of a kid, especially a kid who comes from the same streets as the story that you’re filming. So, for me it was always critical that we don’t go too far afield to find our children. All our kids came from Katwe or Chibuli, which is the neighboring community right across the street from Katwe.”

Casting the person to play Phiona was not an easy task, though. Mira saw 700 girls before she found Madina. She knew that the role of phiona would carry the whole film, so she wanted it to be cast well. She said, referring to finding the right person, “I only trust love. I trust my instinct. I have to love you, because I have to live with you for years.”

A friend of Mira’s was the one who finally stumbled upon Madina, when she was performing with her dance company. He took a video and showed it to Mira, who thought that Madina was “magnetic.”

The Future of Katwe

One of the things that the bloggers in our group were concerned about was what would happen with Katwe and the real children and families that live there.

Mira said, “It is my home. That is where I live. I’m not gonna run away. So we have been doing several things. One is we ran a green set, an ecological set, which is unheard of there.”

“We also worked with the community of Katwe. We called it the Legacy Project while we were shooting, (and asked) what the community needed.”

“It was decided with the elders of the community that public toilets were the big thing. So, we have a project with Disney to build a whole series of public toilets in Katwe, just a small example. But then recently they purchased land and a building in Katwe to house permanently the Chess Academy. And then we have a educational fund for all the pioneers in the film to (attend) university.”

“The education of our kids is vital. And lastly in our film school, Maisha, which is now become a community interdisciplinary school for the community, we are building the last phase of the physical school, hopefully with Disney’s help, which creates a open-air community theater and audio visual library.”

“I mean there are no libraries. There are no books. So that is what I’m appealing for. Because it is impossible for us to have done this thing and made this film and not care about what happens in the future, because the whole film is – as much as it is about the present, it is about the future of our kids.”

About Director Mira Nair

MIRA NAIR (Director) is an award-winning filmmaker who moves between Hollywood and independent cinema. Her debut feature film “Salaam Bombay!” (1988) received more than 25 international awards including an Academy Award® nomination for Best Foreign Language Film and the Caméra d’Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival. Nair’s second film, “Mississippi Masala” (1991) starring Denzel Washington and Sarita Choudhury, won three awards at Venice. The film introduced her to Uganda, where it was partially filmed and set, and where she has since made her home.

Queen of Katwe is in theaters everywhere on September 30, 2016 . Please go see it!

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The Queen of Katwe Family: Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga and Martin Kabanza #QueenOfKatweEvent

Lolli — Tue, 27 Sep 2016 16:35:09 +0000

I was invited to Los Angeles to attend a press day and the red carpet premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe (see my experience HERE and my movie review HERE). Travel and accommodations were covered by Disney, but all thoughts are my own. Movie photos courtesy of Disney. Interview photos courtesy of Carol Jones / All Mommy Wants.

The time we spent chatting with Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga and Martin Kabanza was one of my favorite Hollywood celebrity experiences ever, and certainly one of the most emotional. If you take nothing else away from this interview, take this – the on-screen love and emotions portrayed in Queen of Katwe were real. It was an honor to see these three together.

Lupita, Madina, and Martin: An Instant Bond

When Lupita walked into the room, full of grace and natural beauty, she was holding on to the hands of her on-screen children, Madina and Martin. They looked like a family, and through the interview their love for each other shown through.

When asked what it was like to work with each other on Queen of Katwe, Lupita said, “We like each other. And we had a lot of fun together. I met them before we started shooting. Once Madina was cast, I walked into a rehearsal workshop where they had my whole (movie) family there and I walked in and she said, “Hi, Mom!”

They still call her Mama.

Madina said, “Ever since I was young and ever since I left my mom because she wanted me to go to school (at age four), I’ve never had anyone else that I’ve ever called Mom up to last year, so she was the first one to be called mom from my mom and it was so, so nice for me to call her mom.”

I loved hearing how Lupita stepped into that role of mother for Madina and Martin. None of them ever questioned the instant relationship that they formed. They called her Mom, and she responded as a mom. Madina went on to say, “When I called mom for the first time, she replied to me, and I got touched inside my heart. Okay, so I can call her mom and she will say yes…”

Martin made Lupita and the rest of us cry when he said, “Look, I was raised by my grandparents. My mother left me when I was three months, so my first time to say mom in my mouth (was when I said it to her).”

Not a dry eye.

Getting Into Character

I think one of the most interesting things about Queen of Katwe is that they cast local children with no acting experience. It became clear after talking with Madina and Martin, and later with the real Phiona Mutesi and Robert Katende, that these young actors did not need to “get into character” because they had lived through everything they were portraying on screen.

Lupita commented that, “They’re really hungry and curious and present as actors and it was so lovely for me to have that immediate condition to work in.”

Since neither Madina nor Martin had any previous acting experience, Lupita not only became their mother figure, but their mentor as well. Martin said, “It was my first time acting, but I never knew anything about acting, but she taught us how to get into character. You know, we used to copy everything she do. We tried to do it (like her), she was so good. She was a good mom.”

With a smile on her face, Madina said, “I really used to copy her and I named myself ‘Copycat’ because every time I could see her getting ready, getting into character and then I do what she was doing in quiet ways and she can’t see me, but she was really good and she really helped me in some of the hard scenes that are really hard because I could not really cry because you’ll never find dancers sad.”

Most Memorable Scenes

When asked about their most memorable, favorite, or most touching scenes, each one of the actors surprised me with their responses. Not only did they mention the happy scenes or the scenes that were the most fun to shoot, but they each brought up a scene or two that elicited emotion.

Lupita’s response was profound to me. She said, “What wasn’t touching? I do remember once we were about to shoot the eviction scene, where we all get evicted and I was sitting in our tent where we’d wait and these two were very quiet. They were quite pensive and I asked them how they felt.”

“And they both mentioned how this was their life. They both experienced evictions in their past and I just remember being really moved at how this, the artifice was reflecting a real life in Phiona, but also a real in both of them and that they were having this chance to tell their story and to bring it to a larger audience that would understand the challenges of poverty, but also the triumph of people who live through it and the fact that poverty is not one’s definition, and that they were going to have this chance to put that experience of their past into very good and immediate use in the scene were about to shoot.”

“I come from a very different background. I come from a background of privilege and so I was very humbled in that moment. Because here I am playing the mother and being the shepherdess of these two going through this experience and yet, I was learning so much from them. I was just humbled by that moment and being able to take their lead as we went to do that scene.”

Martin said that one of his favorite scenes was Boda (where the kids go for their first chess competition with other children). He loved having to eat all of that chicken, since chicken was not something that he got to eat very often, if ever, growing up.

They kids had to learn that when they put food in front of you for a scene, you can’t eat it all at once. Lupita said, “We had a scene where we had to eat this stew and the art department made this stew so good, so all the kids were just scarfing it down and I was like, guy, you’ve got to slow down because you’re not going to make it! By the time we’re shooting the thing, they’re pushing it away. They didn’t want anything to do with it.”

Madina’s favorite scene was the “Cat and Dog” story. She said, “My favorite part in the movie was seeing David (Oyelowo) running around doing the cat and dog scene because not in my life (have I ever) had someone who has time for me, who has time for all of us. He had time for us, so he could do the cat and dog playing for us. It was fun for me. I liked it, but I felt it because I felt it because for all of my life, I’ve never had someone like that. And he had time for us, so I respected him, his time and I enjoyed watching what he was doing for us and it was so amazing to see him jumping. Jumping over the bed, collapsing on the floor, so that was my favorite.”

Martin added another favorite scene. He said, “Another scene that I liked in the movie is the flood scene. I liked Mama doing it. She was so real and me, I didn’t have that power of crying, but she made me cry in that scene because she was so real.”

Lupita explained what went on behind that emotional scene: “It was really cold and we shot that in South Africa over four days and it was the winter time, so it was a little shy of thirty degrees and so we would get to set, get into our costumes, go into a hot tub, get wet and then go into this freezing cold water all day. Every time they said, “cut” we’d run to this hot tub and just sit in and then we got all muddy because of the mud in the water. We’d just sit there and sing and talk and play until we had to go again.”

Since Martin added another favorite scene, Madina had to add her second favorite scene to shoot. She said, “This scene where Brian is to be knocked by a boda boda. It was so bad for me because I’ve never experienced that because it has ever knocked me. I had an accident with a car when I was little, so I saw a human being knocked down, so I knew it happens and how it feels to see someone in that much pain. So it was so bad for me and to make me remember the conditions that I was in when I was knocked down by a car, so that was my favorite one.”

Lupita On Portraying Strong African Women

Lupita was brilliant in her role as Harriet, Phiona and Brian’s strong mother, which is a testament not only to her acting ability, but also her ability to connect with her fellow actors and movie-goers. She said, “I love playing roles that stretch me and help me to learn something new and deep about the human experience. It was not by design that I set out to play African women, but how happy I am to have had these opportunities because I think Africa all too often is just a blanket statement. There’s so specificity. It’s very general wash of ideas.”

“I know, being from there, that it is many splendored (place) and so to be able to bring to the forefront stories, particular and specific stories about African women in their variety is so exciting to me because I’m a child of global popular culture. I grew up watching Mexican, Brazilian, Australian, English, American TV.”

We are all grateful that Lupita has taken on these roles and taught the rest of the world how beautiful and vibrant African women can be.

If you’re lucky enough to live somewhere where Queen of Katwe was released early, then don’t wait to see it in theaters. For the rest of us, Queen of Katwe is in theaters everywhere on September 30, 2016. Please go see it!

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Follow QUEEN OF KATWE on Twitter: @queenofkatwe #QueenOfKatwe #QueenOfKatweEvent

10 Reasons You Will Love Disney’s Queen Of Katwe #QueenOfKatweEvent

Lolli — Mon, 26 Sep 2016 14:30:55 +0000

Do you ever see a movie and think, “I can’t wait to bring ALL of my family and friends to see this!”? That’s how Queen of Katwe was for me.

I was invited to Los Angeles to attend the red carpet premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe (see my experience HERE) and got to see the movie twice while there. Travel and accommodations were covered by Disney, but all thoughts are my own. Photos courtesy of Disney.

Madina Nalwanga stars as Phiona Mutesi in Disney’s QUEEN OF KATWE, based on the true story of a young girl from Uganda whose world changes when she is introduced to the game of chess. Directed by Mira Nair, the film also stars Oscar (TM) winner Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo.

About Queen of Katwe

After seeing the movie twice, this trailer literally brings me to tears.

10 Things You’ll LOVE about Queen of Katwe

There is so much to love about Disney’s Queen of Katwe, but here are just 10 of them:

1. Finally! A happy, positive movie that takes place in Africa.
2. The young stars of the movie, Madina Nalwanga, Martin Kabanza and the other “Pioneers,” were real and fully relatable. I was so impressed by the newbies!
3. Queen of Katwe is a movie with a positive message for the whole family. It reinforces the importance of following your dreams, having hope and faith, and never giving up.
4. Queen of Katwe is full of raw emotion – from pain to pure joy. I laughed and I cried.
5. This is a story of HOPE. We need more hope in our world.

6. This is a story of the strength and importance of family bonds. Lupita Nyong’o played Harriet, Phiona’s mother, beautifully. And as you’ll see in my upcoming interview post, the bonds that Lupita made with her on-screen children were real. It was beautiful to witness!
7. This is a story of the power of a good mentor. My husband has a favorite quote that is perfect for Phiona’s story. It goes something like this: “Be the person you needed when you were younger.” Coach Katende is an admirable coach and mentor to countless children.
8. Queen of Katwe is a movie that you are going to want to see again and again.
9. It’s appropriate for the whole family (although little ones might have a harder time following the story).
10. Quene of Katwe is a totally unique “feel-good” story….and a TRUE story! (the best kind) It is full of meaningful quotes and metaphors that will leave you thinking.

About the Children of Queen of Katwe

We had the opportunity to meet both Madina Nalwanga and Martin Kabanza (Phiona and Brian in the movie), and as I mentioned above, the fact that the majority of the Queen of Katwe cast was NOT movie stars was one of the best, most endearing things about it. I love learning a little about the main characters:

MADINA NALWANGA (Phiona Mutesi) makes her acting debut in “Queen of Katwe.” Madina was 4 years old when her future mentor, Lezon Mark Mugwanya, who runs the Sosolya Undugu Dance Academy for underprivileged youth, spotted her on the streets selling corn with her brother and saw something special in her. Mugwanya already knew Madina’s mother, and once he received her blessing began training her at the dance academy – a safe place for Madina to live – and she soon blossomed. Madina could dance four traditional dances perfectly by the time she was eight and is now one of the troop’s lead dancers as well as its lead vocalist. She can sing in 12 different languages. Madina attends Green Valley High School where her education is subsidized by the dance academy.

MARTIN KABANZA (Mugabi Brian) makes his acting debut in “Queen of Katwe.” He was discovered for the role while playing football. Martin was born on November 11, 2002 in Kampala, Uganda and now lives in the Kampala suburb of Bugiza with his grandparents. He is in his first year of high school at St. Mguba School, where he enjoys playing football and following Uganda’s national team.

TARYN “KAY” KYAZE (Night) is from a close-knit family in the suburban Rubaga district of Kampala, Uganda. The 19-year-old makes her feature film debut in “Queen of Katwe.” A former fashion model and co-star of the popular Ugandan television series “The Hostel,” Kyaze also enjoys listening and dancing to music (Nicki Minaj is her favorite artist). She is also very athletic and loves to play soccer and basketball, swim and ride dirt bikes.

NIKITA WALIGWA (Gloria) is 10 years old and in the sixth grade. Nikita makes her acting debut in “Queen of Katwe.” She is now an avid chess player.

9-year-old ETHAN NAZARIO LUBEGA (Benjamin) attends Entebbe Junior School at Grade 4 level. He hid during his first school talent show but has since found his confidence. Ethan started doing commercials at age five and was cast in a documentary about malaria at the age of six.

The real “Pioneers” and Coach Robert Katende

Queen of Katwe is in limited theaters now, but will be in theaters everywhere on September 30, 2016. Please go see it!

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Queen of Katwe Red Carpet Experience

Lolli — Fri, 23 Sep 2016 19:36:17 +0000

I was invited to Los Angeles to attend the red carpet premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe. Travel and accommodations were covered by Disney, but all thoughts are my own.

Group photo on the Oscars stairs by Marshall Weinbaum

Keep following along as I bring more coverage of the event, including movie review and exclusive interviews with the stars. Queen of Katwe opens in select theaters today (9/23) and everywhere 9/30!

HOLLYWOOD, CA – SEPTEMBER 20: (L-R) Actors David Oyelowo, Lupita Nyong’o and Madina Nalwanga, chaperone Mark Mugwana, Executive Vice President of Production, The Walt Disney Studios, Tendo Nagenda, President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production, Sean Bailey, Chess Coach and Director of Sports Outreach in Uganda, Robert Katende, Ugandan national chess champion Phiona Mutesi, Director Mira Nair, actor Martin Kabanza and composer Alex Heffes arrive at the U.S. premiere of Disney’s “Queen of Katwe” at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. The film, starring David Oyelowo, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and newcomer Madina Nalwanga, is directed by Mira Nair and opens in U.S. theaters in limited release on September 23, expanding wide September 30, 2016. On September 20, 2016 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

The Queen of Katwe red carpet was vibrant and colorful, just like the movie. I’ve had the opportunity to walk the red carpet of several premieres in Hollywood, New York City, and Orlando, and it was this red carpet where I felt most relaxed, most beautiful, and most like myself.

Perhaps one of my favorite moments at the Queen of Katwe red carpet premiere was seeing Madina and Martin (Phiona and Brian in the movie) dancing on the red carpet, celebrating their joy and excitement – and later, dancing again at the after-party.

This was their day. Their celebration.

Vibrant. Alive. Joyful.

That was what the Queen of Katwe premiere was for me.

Lupita Nyong’o, Madina Nalwanga and David Oyelowo pose together at the U.S. premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Tuesday, September 20, 2016. The film, starring David Oyelowo, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and newcomer Madina Nalwanga, is directed by Mira Nair (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

I had the opportunity to dance near Lupita, Madina, Martin, Mira, and many other talented people involved in the production of the movie.

Martin Kabanza and Lupita Nyong’o dance together at the U.S. premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Tuesday, September 20, 2016. The film, starring David Oyelowo, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o and newcomer Madina Nalwanga, is directed by Mira Nair (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

I was also able to meet David Oyelowo and his kids (and bond over the fact that we both have big families). You are going to LOVE him in his role as Coach Richard Katende (and after meeting the real Katende, I can attest that David nailed the part!).

And I had the privilege of celebrating and enjoying the evening with my blogging friends. I loved wearing my friend’s dress from Ivory Coast and sharing a dress from Cameroon with my fellow blogger, Elayna from The Positive Mom. She totally rocked the dress!

About Queen of Katwe:

“Queen of Katwe” is based on the vibrant true story of a young girl from the streets of rural Uganda whose world rapidly changes when she is introduced to the game of chess, and, as a result of the support she receives from her family and community, is instilled with the confidence and determination she needs to pursue her dream of becoming an international chess champion. Directed by Mira Nair from a screenplay by William Wheeler, “Queen of Katwe” is produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher, p.g.a. and John Carls, p.g.a. with Will Weiske and Troy Buder serving as executive producers. The film stars Golden Globe® nominee David Oyelowo, Oscar® winner and Tony Award® nominee Lupita Nyong’o and newcomer Madina Nalwanga.

Tendo Nagenda; Mira Nair; David Oyelowo (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)

For 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi (Nalwanga) and her family, life in the impoverished slum of Katwe in Kampala, Uganda, is a constant struggle. Her mother, Harriet (Nyong’o), is fiercely determined to take care of her family and works tirelessly selling vegetables in the market to make sure her children are fed and have a roof over their heads. When Phiona meets Robert Katende (Oyelowo), a soccer player turned missionary who teaches local children chess, she is captivated. Chess requires a good deal of concentration, strategic thinking and risk taking, all skills which are applicable in everyday life, and Katende hopes to empower youth with the game. Phiona is impressed by the intelligence and wit the game requires and immediately shows potential.

Phiona Mutesi and Robert Katende arrive at the U.S. premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Tuesday, September 20, 2016. (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

Recognizing Phiona’s natural aptitude for chess and the fighting spirit she’s inherited from her mother, Katende begins to mentor her, but Harriet is reluctant to provide any encouragement, not wanting to see her daughter disappointed. As Phiona begins to succeed in local chess competitions, Katende teaches her to read and write in order to pursue schooling. She quickly advances through the ranks in tournaments, but breaks away from her family to focus on her own life. Her mother eventually realizes that Phiona has a chance to excel and teams up with Katende to help her fulfill her extraordinary potential, escape a life of poverty and save her family. Disney’s “Queen of Katwe” will open in select U.S. theaters on September 23, 2016 and everywhere on September 30, 2016.

Madina Nalwanga and Martin Kabanza dances with Disney’s Tendo Nagenda dance at the U.S. premiere of Disney’s Queen of Katwe at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, CA on Tuesday, September 20, 2016. (Photo: Alex J. Berliner/ABImages)

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I’m Heading to the Queen of Katwe Red Carpet Premiere #QueenOfKatweEvent #ABCTVEvent

Lolli — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 02:53:07 +0000

I’m so honored to have been invited to attend the red carpet premiere of Disney’s QUEEN OF KATWE, coming to theaters on September 23. Travel and accommodations are being covered by Disney, but my excitement is authentically my own.

In just one week, I’ll be hopping on another plane for the Red Carpet Premiere of Queen Of Katwe, based on the true story of Phiona Mutesi & Robert Katende. I’m excited to have the chance to interview David Oyelowo (Robert Katende), Lupita Nyong’o (Phiona’s mother), as well as newcomer Madina Nalwanga, who plays Phiona in the film. We also get to interview Martin Kabanza, who plays Phiona’s brother in the movie, and Director Mira Nair.

But perhaps even more exciting, we’ll be interviewing the real Phiona Mutesi and Robert Katende.

I’m currently reading The Queen of Katwe (Amazon link to the book) and in case you missed it, I’ve teamed up with some of the other bloggers heading on the trip to give away not one but TWO Queen of Katwe prize packs (which include a copy of the book and a gorgeous chess set!).

If you are unfamiliar with Phiona’s story, check out the trailer:

While we’re in LA, we’ll also have the chance to go behind-the-scenes and visit the sets of ABC’s “The Middle” (love that show!) and the new series, “American Housewife.” If that wasn’t cool enough, we also get to have an amazing ONCE UPON A TIME experience!

Once Upon a Time is one of our family’s favorite shows, and our group in LA will be among a select few to get a Sneak Preview of the Once Upon a Time Season 6 Premiere, “The Savior,” which will be followed by a Q&A with co-creators and executive producers Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz.

About “American Housewife” (premieres Tuesday, October 11 at 8:30/7:30c): Katie Otto, a confident, unapologetic wife and mother of three, raises her flawed family in the wealthy town of Westport, Connecticut, filled with “perfect” mommies and their “perfect” offspring. Katie’s perfectly imperfect world is upended when her neighbor’s decision to move notches her up from her ideal social standing and sets her on a path to ensure that doesn’t happen, regardless of the consequences.
Check out the official trailer:

About “The Middle” (premieres Tuesday, October 11 at 8/7c): Two-time Emmy-winner Patricia Heaton stars in this warm and witty single-camera comedy about raising a family and lowering your expectations. Middle-aged, middle class and living in the middle of the country in Orson, Indiana, Frankie Heck is a harried wife and mother of three who uses her wry wit and sense of humor to get her family through each day intact. Frankie works as a dental assistant, and her unflappable husband, Mike, is manager at the local quarry and her sardonic partner in the daily grind that is raising their average – yes, most definitely average – family.

Mark your calendars and make sure to follow along next Monday through Wednesday, 9/19-9/21! We’ll be using hashtags #QueenOfKatweaEvent, #ABCTVEvent, #TheMiddle, #AmericanHousewife, and #OnceUponATime