This Deleted Scene From Queen Of Katwe Will Break Your Heart

As much as I love the "inspiring teacher" genre, it could definitely use a renaissance. After all, it's been well over two decades since Dead Poets Society, the cinematic nucleus of the archetype. In the interim, movies like Akeelah and the Bee (2006) and Freedom Writers (2007) have carried on the legacy, but it's been a few years since we had a rousing film about a plucky group of students galvanized by their instructor. Enter Queen Of Katwe, which was released in theaters in September. The Disney film follows a young Ugandan girl named Phiona (played by Madina Nalwanga) who discovers her penchant for chess. For her school and community in Katwe, Uganda, the game becomes an escape. David Oyelowo plays Robert Katende, a teacher at Phiona's school, who teaches and encourages the young protagonist. "You could be the best in all of Uganda," he tells her in the trailer. Indeed, this is true. But it's all a small matter of funding and opportunity. When the students hear they will travel to Budo, a nearby town, for a chess competition, they are elated. This is it: an opportunity to leave Katwe riding the game of chess. In this exclusive deleted scene from the movie, Katende discovers that he cannot bring his students to Budo, as the heads of the chess league do not want children from the "slums" at the competition. He then breaks the news to his young students — and I won't reveal what happens next. Watch the full clip, below.