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Listen to Alicia Keys’ original song for Mira Nair’s Queen of Katwe
Director Mira Nair’s true-life movie Queen of Katwe, starring Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo, inspired Alicia Keys to write a new song.
Director Mira Nair’s true-life movie Queen of Katwe, starring Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo, inspired Alicia Keys to write a new song.
A featurette for the upcoming film gives a preview of the singer’s new track, Back to Life.
Read: Boldness is not associated with showing off skin: Mira Nair
The movie tells the story of Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga), a 10-year-old in the impoverished Ugandan slum of Katwe, who goes from selling corn in the streets to becoming an international chess champion with the help of her coach (Oyelowo), reported Entertainment Weekly.
“I was just totally taken by Queen of Katwe. Phiona’s story is so powerful, it just moved me to write the song called Back to Life. This song is about how there’s no stopping when you’re determined and you believe in yourself,” Keys said.
“Phiona represents the rose through the concrete, what incredible things can come from that. When women are empowered, the world changes.”
In a previous preview for the film, Nyong’o, who plays the young girl’s mother, discussed the emotional impact she immediately felt from the project.
“When I first read Queen of Katwe, I was about 10 pages in when I broke down and cried because I had been so inspired,” she shared.
Read: Mira Nair’s The Queen Of Katwe to premiere at Toronto film fest
The movie is set for its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10.
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