“Brooklyn Castle” is coming to St. Louis beginning Wednesday, November 21st and I’m hoping you can both attend and help spread the word. Please pass this note along to your mailing lists, your fellow chess enthusiasts, students, teachers, school administrators and others you think will be interested in this inspiring film and let’s see if we can get sell-out crowds.
Brooklyn Castle follows the successes and challenges of IS 318 in Brooklyn, NY, the most successful middle school chess team in the nation. While working to excel at the chess board, the students and teachers face another major hurdle as cutbacks to after school programs threaten the very existence of their program. It’s an inspiring story of what it takes to be a champion, on the chess board, and in life.
The film opened in New York City to major press support from such diverse outlets as the Today Show and the Hollywood Reporter, Sports Illustrated and Teen Vogue. You might like to see the review in the New York Times. Teachers might also like this one from Salon.com.
Brooklyn Castle will play at:
Landmark Plaza Frontenac
210 Plaza Frontenac, 1701 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis MO 63131
Visit this page to buy your tickets in advance.
(If the theater link doesn’t yet show Brooklyn Castle, check back; updates happen the first of the week).
And tell your family, friends, teachers, co-workers they’ll love it. As one reviewer put it:
“… it honestly makes no difference if you don’t even know the rules of chess and have never visited New York; this is a story about human potential and the lingering possibilities of the American dream.”
I appreciate the support. Here’s to growing chess across America.
Robert McLellan
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
I saw this movie in the Los Angeles area with my family and I highly recommend it. Well made. It shows the struggles of the kids to improve their chess under adverse conditions and the schools to secure much-needed funding.