Don't Turn This Into A Typical "Inspirational" Movie aka Hollywood Crap

According to Linda Holmes, who screened this at SXSW, some of the reasons that the documentary, Brooklyn Castle, about underprivileged kids who play chess is a film everyone should watch are 

Because the school has, as the principal explains, a poverty rate of about 70 to 75 percent, it would be easy for this film to be a very obvious, very shallow story in which the moral is that even kids from the worst possible circumstances can succeed. That's not what it's about. These are kids who are, in many ways, profoundly blessed: they're very bright, they're personable, and they have loving, supportive familie... In other words, these kids aren't interesting only because their school has a high poverty rate, and the film doesn't condescend to them on that basis. They're interesting — fascinating, really — for the same reason people who are great at something are always fascinating, which is that they have passion for what they do.

 Furthermore,

At the same time, the film is also making an argument about the importance of the extracurricular activities that are most imperiled by school funding debates. Some who watch the film may be surprised that even a reputation-making program like the chess program at I.S. 318 takes cut after cut after cut as the school's funding drops. Dellamaggiore wants not only to tell the story of these particular kids, but to argue for how important chess — and you can substitute art, or music, or sports — can be to any kid.

And finally, 

One of my favorite things about the way the movie is structured is that while it opens with a focus on Rochelle, who's seen moving on to high school from her position as I.S. 318's highest-ranking player (and, sadly, just about the only girl you'll see participating), it doesn't spend its time exclusively with superstar players who win tournaments, which wouldn't really be fair. 

The film is so great it got picked up by Scott Rudin and Sony Pictures to be remade into a "based on a true story" fiction film... which leads Holmes (and now me) to worry.

While there are movies that come out of stories about kids that are actually about kids (Akeelah And The Bee comes immediately to mind), it's far more common for classroom stories to become about the adults. I have a gnawing fear of seeing somebody like Charlize Theron (an actress I really like) as the woman who coaches the kids in chess. I fear the focus drifting from the kids to the adults who are more easily played by existing movie stars. This is a story about the school and the coaches and the parents, but it's really a story about the students. I deeply hope that it remains a story about the students.

We really don't need another Hollywood movie about needy (but cute/cool) inner-city kids lost in the urban jungle except for their inspirational teacher.  Especially when there are better and truer ways to express the experience of education, kids and inspiration in the world today.