The acclaimed independent documentary “Brooklyn Castle” opens to the Bay Area this Friday, Nov. 16, 2012.

The Pioneer attended a sneak preview of the film, which made its debut at the South by Southwest Festival earlier this year, where it won the Audience Award.

The special preview was hosted by the Park Day School in Oakland after the filmmakers reached out to educators to provide free screenings. Less than a hundred people attended the viewing, event organizers said.
The documentary follows several diverse middle school students at New York City’s Intermediate School (I.S.) 318 in Brooklyn who all share a passion for chess.

The filmmaker’s lens captures them in the environments of school, home, and chess tournaments, and shows the dynamic changes between the three.

Viewers watch as the students cope with not only the challenges of state and national chess competitions, but also personal obstacles connected to other aspects of their lives.

I.S. 318 student Patrick uses chess to help him practice concentration and control his ADHD.

Eighth-grader Rochelle continues toward her goal to become the first African-American female to achieve the status of Master.

Sixth-grader Justus is already a Master at age 12, nonetheless, he learns important life lessons in the tournament hall.

Twelve-year-old Pobo used the confidence he gained playing chess to win the presidency in the school’s student government election, centering his campaign around protecting programs like the chess team, marching band and music classes.

The film tells a broader story about the importance of extracurricular education as the students deal with ever steepening budget cuts to the New York public school system.

Each chess player shows the benefit of the game in a different way in their outside lives, applying their skills of discipline, thoughtfulness, and moving forward from disappointment.

By the end of the film, the futures of the students seem undeniably bright, but the future of the I.S. 318 chess team, though it ranks among the best in the nation, seems threatened.

The students and their families unite with the faculty in their outcry against funding cuts that doubled each year between 2009 and 2011.

California schools have experienced similar fund slashing over the past few years, leading up to the passage of Proposition 30 earlier this month.

The filmmakers make a strong argument for funding public extracurricular programs in order to provide everyone equally with the opportunity to learn life lessons that ultimately set students up for success inside the classroom by giving them a passion to learn away from it.

Students, parents and educators will likely find this film uplifting, showing that hard work can pay off, even in the face of budgetary crisis.

The mental capacity for chess the students show is incredible, but their emotional trials consciously connect the viewer to a time in adolescence when the reality of the future is just starting to set in.

The film will open Friday and will be showing at the Opera Plaza Cinema on Van Ness in San Francisco, and the Landmark Shattuck Theater in Berkeley.