SLC-S25/W6-Movie Snapshots| Your life on Screen (Queen of Katwe)

INTRODUCTION

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Some films don't just entertain you, they quietly enter your heart and shift how you see yourself, your struggles, and even your life. Queen of Katwe is one of those movies that touched me like that the very first time I watched it. I didn't plan on watching it. I was down, I took my phone hoping to find something that would uplift my mood.

But instead, I found myself eyes fixed on the screen, with snacks in my hand, I watched the movie like someone watching his own story unfold.

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Watch a movie that reflects a part of your identity, culture, or experience

My Life on Screen – The Movie That Reflects me

Phiona Mutesi, a young girl, was the main character in the movie, she lived in Katwe, a rough neighborhood in Uganda. Her parents were not rich, at first she didn't have any special skill, nothing fancy at all. Just a little girl struggling with her mother and siblings after their father died. But then, she stumbled into a small chess class led by Coach Robert Katende and gradually, her brain and spirit came alive.

To say the truth, I would not wish to grow up in Katwe, but where I grew up we knew what it meant to have little. There's that feeling you have when others go to private schools, while you manage to go to public school where chairs have been destroyed, sometimes you even sit on the ground, and to worsen the situation the ceilings have leaks, and when it is raining, rain falls directly into the classroom. That feeling of hunger that strikes during class, yet you still try to focus. That feeling of always hearing.

“people like you cannot reach that level.”

Well in my own case, it's not chess—it's engineering. But the same spirit of struggle and big dream? It really touched me.

The first time Phiona held a chess piece, she had no idea it was the “bishop.” She asked “is it the queen or king?” I laughed a bit—not to mock her—but because I remembered that same kind of confusion I had during my early days in school. Like the time I first saw a technical drawing sheet, It just looked like a map. Everybody was moving fast, me I was just lost. But still, I did not give up. The same way Phiona did not let ignorance stop her.

The part in the movie when she lost one tournament that she believed she would win, that part shook me. The pain on her face was not just about losing the game—it carried a deeper meaning. For people like us, any small win is a serious hope. Every tiny success is proof that “maybe things will be better.” So when it fails, it feels like your whole life has betrayed you. I remember how I felt when I barely passed a crucial engineering mechanics course, after all the effort I put in. I was devastated. But like Phiona, I went back to the drawing board, put more effort into reading, changed my method—and the next time, I passed. To say the truth, I was proud of my efforts.

One scene in the movie that really pained me was when her mother, Harriet, told the coach that “girls in Katwe do not dream.” That statement cut me like a blade. How many places in Nigeria still have that mindset? Where they believe that girls are not supposed to dream big? Or some that say boys are not supposed to talk about ambition, all they have to do is survive? I have heard things like

“you dream too much, do you think you are like the whites?”

But this film doesn't just point out the problem—it show us how to fight am.

Another strong character that moved me is Robert Katende. That man doesn't just teach chess—he also gives his students a sense of worth. He feeds them, protects them and encourages them. We really need more Katendes for our communities—people that can see better things even when others see nothing.

One soft but deep lesson I learnt from Queen of Katwe is; poverty doesn't mean that a person is not wise. Just because you did not grow with material things doesn't mean you are not wise. Phiona did not wear shoes, but she had the brains of a master. That raw intelligence hardship brings—you can see it in the way they read the environment, solve problems with little resources, and still have hope. I see that in my classmates, neighbors, even myself.

That scene where Phiona began to win competitions and people from her area celebrated with her, the joy was not for her alone, it was also for others who felt invisible. When I passed my second year after struggling in my first year, my mother called all our compound people to tell them. I am shy, but I understood. In our kind of family, when one person wins, everybody wins.

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Mention 5 things from the movie that motivated you to keep pushing in life

Watching Queen of Katwe, I did not just see it as a movie. Six powerful things from that movie motivated me to keep moving, even when life is not the way I want:

1. Phiona's humble background – She started from nothing, but still had big dreams. That alone reminds me that where you come cannot determine where you would go

2. Her boldness to learn from scratch – Even when she did not know chess or the names of the pieces, she still sat down and learnt not caring about those who were laughing. That spirit entered me.

3. How she handles failure – When she lost the tournament, even though it pained her, she did not give up. She went back, learnt again, and came back stronger. That mindset helped me face my own academic challenges.

4. Her mother’s strength – Harriet fights for her children like a lioness. That woman reminds me of my own mother who still hustles to make sure we eat and still believes that we would make it.

5. Coach Robert Katende’s support – That man taught me that even if you don't have money to help a person, if you have time and care, you have already changed somebody’s life.

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Who was your favorite character? And why?

Robert Katende was my favorite character in the movie because he doesn't just teach chess—he give those children dignity, hope, and direction when nobody else believed in them.

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Mention at least 2 movies you have seen this year that inspired you and why they did

Other movies That moved me

Aside from Queen of Katwe, two other movies really touched my soul—"CODA" and "The Mitchells vs. The Machines". I know the genre is different, but they still have a space in my heart.

CODA is the story of a girl that is the only person in her family, that can hear. She loves to sing, but her family cannot even hear her voice. It's frustrating. How can you love something, but people whom you love cannot even understand? Sometimes I feel like that too when I talk about my dreams. Some of my relatives would just look at me as if I'm wasting my time. They would say;

“Abeg no dey play, find better thing do.”

But not everyone understands your passion. Just like the girl for CODA, sometimes you must balance between your heart and your responsibility.

Then The Mitchells vs. The Machines, yes, it is an animation, but it is deeper than what the eyes can see. It's about a chaotic family trying to still hold themselves together while the world is ending. All the quarrels, misunderstandings, little dramas reminded me of my own house. My sister has cried before saying I ate her Indomie. My mother can shout for things like

“why didn't you rinse the plate before you pour the water?”

But in all of these, there was abundant love. That movie just made me appreciate that family does not need be perfect, they just need be real.

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Final Thoughts

So when I saw this SLC Movie Snapshot contest, and we were to pick a movie that reflects our life, I knew that Queen of Katwe was the one. It's my mirror. It's my story from being unsure to finding confidence. From low self-esteem to self-worth. From fear to bold dreams.

I may not be a chess champion like Phiona, but I have learnt how to think ahead, move smart, and believe in myself, no matter how rough my beginnings are. I have learnt to listen to that voice that says “you can do it,” even when everything around me says otherwise.

For Naija like this, sometimes it looks like you are playing chess—you go calculate every move well. You dey dodge NEPA palava, ASUU strike, fuel issues, and even bad lecturers.

But still, just like Phiona, we play, we learn, and little by little, we would win.

Life is not balanced, that's true. But with better mindset, small grace, and the right people around, even those from “Katwe” can rise.

Apart from the sources image, the remaining images were screenshots from my device.

I invite @promisezella @imohmitch @mr-peng to participate in this contest.