I was one of the lucky people who got to see New Zealand film ‘The Dark Horse’ debut at the NZIFF a couple of weeks ago, its first public outing and a night that ensured its future as a Great Kiwi Film. Everyone in the house was moved, buoyed and impressed by the tale of Maori chess Genesis Potini, and the work he did with underprivileged and challenged youth in his own hometown.

I was one of the lucky people who got to see New Zealand film ‘The Dark Horse’ debut at the NZIFF a couple of weeks ago, its first public outing and a night that ensured its future as a Great Kiwi Film. Everyone in the house was moved, buoyed and impressed by the tale of Maori chess Genesis Potini, and the work he did with underprivileged and challenged youth in his own hometown.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, ‘The Dark Horse’ is a gritty-but-inspiring true story based on the life of the charismatic, brilliant but little known New Zealand hero and chess champion Potini, and stars a magical Cliff Curtis in the lead role. It was inspired by the 2003 ‘Dark Horse’ documentary, which tells the story of Potini's life, his battle with mental illness and his passion for chess, and what happened when he took that passion into the local community for the betterment of its youth. A beautiful watch all on its own, it immediately came to mind when I watched ‘Brooklyn Castle’, a much-applauded US documentary around a similar subject that is showing this Thursday on Rialto Channel.  

Insanely uplifting and shamelessly feel good in its approach, Katie Dellamaggiore's documentary ‘Brooklyn Castle’ (Thursday 6th August,8:30pm) has been called “the best documentary of 2012, a charming, heartfelt film that celebrates dreams and the kids chasing them”, and I couldn’t put it better myself. A Williamsburg public school is perhaps one of the last places in the US you’d expect to find a chess powerhouse, but Intermediate School (I.S.) 318 - an inner-city school in Brooklyn – is exactly that. A hotbed of talent and passion for the grandest of games, despite the fact that 65 per cent of its students come from homes with incomes below the federal poverty level. Along with some difficult family lives and everyday challenges, many of the kids also happen to be masters of chess. The school is amazingly producing national champions straight out of junior high - 26 national chess titles to be exact, more than any other Junior High School in the US. And at this school the “geeks” as they call them, are the “athletes” - the total rock stars of the community.

The documentary follows the challenges and triumphs - both on and off the ‘board - of five I.S. 318 students who are all passionate about the game but have different reasons for wanting to represent their school and embrace the game. Their key motivators include everything from wanting to get into the best high school one day, to using chess to help with ADHD and to dreams of becoming the first African- American chess leader, and you just cannot help but fall in love with their tale as recession-driven public school budget cuts threaten to destroy their dreams and undermine their hard-won success. These kids are smack bang in a below-the-poverty-line community and face many challenges in their personal lives as well as on the chessboard, but it seems that the biggest obstacle life throws at them arises not from other competitors or their family situations but from austerity measures cutting all the essential extracurricular activities at their school. It is heartbreaking to watch but never fear (SPOILER ALERT) - Justus, Patrick, Rochelle, Pobo and Alexis all come out on top in the end!

Lastly, if you’re anything like me you’ll want to delve into a little “where are they now?” to ensure the kids are still on track, and I’m happy to report that they are - with law schools, international matches and scholarships all in place or just over the horizon. Go 318! Love a little feel good, and this doco is most definitely up there with the best.

Brooklyn Castle - Wednesday 6th August, 8:30pm