EXCLUSIVE TRAILER: Bianca Mitchell-Avila is a Young Chess Player with a Dream in ‘Madwoman’s Game’
Credit: UltraBoom Media
The Madwoman’s Game isn’t a game. It’s also not the documentary you expect it to be. But it is a documentary about a game that rarely gets a lot of attention: chess. The documentary, executive-produced by Keanu Reeves, follows a young Latina chess player, Bianca Mitchell-Avila, as she navigates competition and the difficult culture within the sport. It’s also produced by Mitchell-Avila with Reeves acting as her mentor since she was 15.
In the trailer, we see Bianca talk about how chess was always part of her life, as we see pictures of her as a baby and then a kid. The game, which she got from her grandmother, isn’t just about an escape—and it’s not just a game, but a sport and a way to navigate life. But the important part, as we see in this first footage, isn’t just about how you play, but how the game helps you navigate life. And we follow her over a six-year cinematic journey.
The documentary was directed by multiple Primetime Emmy Award winner and Peabody Award winner Zach Zamboni, and it’s set to have its world premiere at the Miami International Film Festival on Thursday, April 16. It was also executive produced by Keanu Reeves and Carla Berkowitz, along with Sugar23 and UltraBoom Media.
So, if you’ve ever wanted to know more about chess, or if you ever wondered if the sport had a place for our communities, this is the perfect place to start. And if you pick up a chessboard afterward, that’s probably what the documentary would like.
Watch the exclusive trailer for Madwoman’s Game below.