''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 Bertina Henrichs (born 1966, Frankfurt am Main) is a German writer who writes in French and lives in Paris. Life Bertina Henrichs studied literature and film techniques in Berlin and France. With a thesis on writers who have adopted a foreign la ...

Synopsis

The film stars Sandrine Bonnaire as a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

chambermaid on the island of

Corsica Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...

. She develops an interest in chess. She has been cleaning the house of an American doctor (played by

Kevin Kline Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award and three Tony Awards. In addition, he has received nominations for two British Academy Film Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five ...

in his first

-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'' *

as ''Kröger'' * Valérie Lagrange as ''Maria'' * Francis Renaud as ''Ange'' * Alexandra Gentil as ''Lisa'' *

Alice Pol Alice Pol (born 3 December 1982) is a French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, ...

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 and the ColCoa Film Festival 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.

References

External links

''Queen To Play'' at Zeitgeist Films
* *
''Queen To Play''
at Video Detective

at StudioCanal

Interview with Caroline Bottaro on indieWIRE

''Queen To Play'' Goes to Zeitgeist Films for U.S. Distribution on indieWiRE
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen To Play 2000s French-language films English-language French films 2009 comedy-drama films 2009 films Films set in Corsica Films shot in Corsica Films about chess Films based on French novels Films based on German novels 2009 directorial debut films French comedy-drama films Films scored by Nicola Piovani 2000s French films