Queen to Play

Queen to Play (original title Joueuse, the feminine form of “player”) is a 2009 French-German film directed by Caroline Bottaro. It is based on the novel La Joueuse d’échecs by Bertina Henrichs.

Queen to Play
Directed by	Caroline Bottaro
Screenplay by	Caroline Bottaro
Based on	La Joueuse d’échecs by Bertina Henrichs
Produced by	Dominique Besnehard Michel Feller Jean-Philippe Laroche Amelie Latscha
Starring	Sandrine Bonnaire Kevin Kline Valérie Lagrange
Cinematography	Jean-Claude Larrieu
Edited by	Tina Baz
Music by	Nicola Piovani
Production company	StudioCanal
Distributed by	Zeitgeist Films (USA)
Release date	August 5, 2009 (2009-08-05) (France)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

Synopsis

The film stars Sandrine Bonnaire as a French chambermaid on the island of Corsica. She develops an interest in chess. She has been cleaning the house of an American doctor (played by Kevin Kline in his first French-speaking role), and he begins helping her practice and improve. She must deal with her growing fascination with the game and with her husband and teenaged daughter.

Cast

• Sandrine Bonnaire as Hélène
• Kevin Kline as Kröger
• Valérie Lagrange as Maria
• Francis Renaud as Ange
• Alexandra Gentil as Lisa
• Alice Pol as Natalia
• Didier Ferrari as Jacky
• Laurence Colussi as Pina
• Élisabeth Vitali as Marie-Jeanne
• Daniel Martin as The President of the Chess Club
• Dominic Gould as L'Américain
• Jennifer Beals as L'Américaine

Awards

• 2010: Special Mention for John Schlesinger Award for Outstanding First Feature Palm Springs International Film Festival
• 2009: Official Selection Tribeca Film Festival

Release

The film had its world premiere on April 25, 2009 in both New York City and Los Angeles, at the Tribeca Film Festival^[1] and the ColCoa Film Festival^[2] respectively. The national release in France was on August 5, 2009 and in Germany on January 7, 2010. The film is distributed in the U.S. by Zeitgeist Films and was released there on April 1, 2011.