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Cape Town - The Academy Award-winning, Kenyan actress Lupita Nyong'o will be making her way back to Africa with her latest production.
According to Deadline, the 12 Years a Slave actress will be starring in a new film, called Queen Of Katwe, alongside British actor, David Oyelowo.
The film is based on an article titled, The Queen Of Katwe: A Story Of Life, Chess, And One Extraordinary Girl’s Dream Of Becoming A Grandmaster, written by Tim Crothers for ESPN The Magazine in 2011. The article later dissolved into a book with the same title.
The film is set to be shot right here on Mzansi shores.
(Lupita Nyong'o arriving at the Annual Golden Globe Awards, 2015. Getty Images)
The book chronicles the real life story of a Ugandan female chess player, Phiona Mutesi, who was a three-time Women's Junior Champion of Uganda. Mutesi and her partner's performance at the 40th Chess Olympiad in 2012 earned them the accolade of first ever titled female players in Ugandan chess history. In that same year Mutesi became the first female player to win the open category of the National Junior Chess Championship in Uganda.
Queen of Katwe is due to be filmed in South Africa and Uganda, Nyong'o is in negotiations to play the role of Harriet Mutesi, Phiona’s mother.
Shooting dates have not yet been announced.
