Lupita Nyong o Will Star in Mira Nair s Queen of Katwe

A revelation from revered director Mira Nair, that one of the stars of McQueens Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave Lupita Nyongo will star in Nairs next film, which will be based on the book Queen of Katwe, by Tim Crothers.

Nairs interest in the books adaptation was first reported a year ago, when, in an interview with Newsweek Pakistan, she revealed that she was working on a film on Ugandan chess prodigy Phiona Mutesi.

Nair shared that the project was set up at Disney, although she didnt give any further information on it - like how far along in the production process she was, or when the film can be expected.

Also known as The Queen of Katwe, which is what the film is currently titled, Mutesis story was the inspiration for a book by Tim Crothers, titled, The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess, and One Extraordinary Girls Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster. Shes also been the subject of short documentaries and news reports, capturing her inspiring story. I embedded one of them at the bottom of this post.

In case youre wondering about Mira Nairs Uganda connection, she founded Maisha Film Labs - a Uganda-based film training initiative (not-so unlike the Sundance Institutes filmmaker labs, or the IFPs filmmaker labs).

The goal of the Maisha Film Labs is to give aspiring filmmakers in the East African country the tools & knowledge to tell their own stories through film, which would then help foster a self-sustaining film industry in Uganda and vicinity, that will support and represent the interests of local audiences.

Mira Nairs award-winning 1991 film, Mississipi Masala (which starred Denzel Washington, by the way, and probably my favorite of all her films), was shot, on location, in Kampala, Uganda. And, its also in Uganda, in 1988, where she met her husband, scholar, Mahmood Mamdani, while she was doing research for the film.

She also lives there.

Nair recounts her mission in starting the film labs: One so rarely sees any images from the African continent that even vaguely resemble what it is like to live here, or to struggle here -- the dignity and the power and the beauty of it... The enormous validation and entertainment one gets from seeing your own situation, and your own language, and your own struggle onscreen is a very powerful thing... If we dont tell our own stories, no one else will.

Familiar words to all of you Im sure, given ongoing discussions we have on this site about doing just that - taking control of *our* images and stories, and countering those rather limited depictions of *us* created by others.

Nair hopes to produce what she calls a top-flight local cinema culture, in a region with a vibrant oral storytelling tradition, but with few opportunities to translate those stories into film, and with few institutions offering formal technical training. You can say the same thing about a number of other African countries.

But we can only assume that its with that same motivation and passion that Nair will tackle Phiona Mutesis story on film, with Lupita Nyongo now attached to star as the teenage prodigy.

No ETA on the project yet, but Im definitely anxious to see what Ms Nair and Nyongo are cooking up here. I smell what could be another potential Oscar nomination (and maybe even win) for the actress. It reads like that kind of project. And with Disneys backing, Im assuming it wont go unnoticed.

With a lucrative, long-term Lanc me contract inked, Lupita is very likely not struggling for cash right now, and so, can probably afford to be picky about the projects she decides to take on. And so far, one could say she has. She certainly couldve parlayed her Oscar win into a myriad of roles, in a million movies (Id like to believe shes been offered quite a few roles since 12 Years a Slave); but shes been selective in terms of projects and filmmakers she works with. As of right now, we know she has a role in the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII, although what character she plays is being kept a secret, despite all the rumors and speculation. Its a super high-profile movie, based on the super high-profile and almost universally-known and loved franchise, directed by a high-profile director in J.J. Abrams, that will only expose her to an even broader audience. Shes also developing an adaptation of another novel, by a celebrate, quite popular author and speaker in Chimamanda Ngozie Adichie, titled Americanah, which shell also star in, with Brad Pitts backing, via his production company; and now theres this project with an acclaimed, veteran filmmaker with international recognition, in Mira Nair.

http://blogs.indiewire.com

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