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I’ve just heard on the news that another great, troubled talent has died, George Michael, at the age of just 53. God, it has been  a bad year for losing great musos…David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Joe Cocker. It’s just depressing…

Hey, if you need a bit of cheering up, I’ve got a great remedy. Catch the film QUEEN OF KATWE. You will come out of it feeling on top of the world.

QUEEN OF KATWE is a film set in Uganda, a part of the world that sadly doesn’t get much screen time.

It tells a true story. Phiona Mutesi (Nadina Naluanga) is a young girl from Katwe, a  very poor town in Kampala. Every day is a struggle for her mother Nakku Harriet (Lupita Nyong’o) to get the family through.

Ordinarily she wouldn’t have much chance in life but she has one thing going for her. She is a mean chess player in a town, in a country, that is just mad about chess.

Local  chess coach Robert Katende (David Oyelowo) takes her under his wing and together they want her to achieve something big. Their goal is to have her play in the World Chess Olympiad and to become a chess master.

Like any ‘Hero’s Journey’, the narrative pattern that the great scholar Joseph Campbell uncovered and named, there are many twists and turns, ups and downs, before Phiona achieves her goal.

The story is beautifully told, the performances are natural and affecting,  and the cinematography and the soundtrack are lush.

It all makes for an irresistible and heartwarming package, a perfect end of year gift.

QUEEN OF KATWE, directed by Ugandan born director Mira Nair, is the screen adaptation, by William Wheeler, of ESPN journalist Tim Crothers book entitled The Queen of Katwe : A Story of Life, Chess and One Extraordinary Girl’s Dream of Becoming A Grandmaster which grew out of an magazine article which he wrote for the network.