If you like feel-good but not soppy, funny but not slapstick, and inspiring but not Tony Robbins (for non-Americans, that’s Tony Robbins the self-help guru and business mogul), then Queen of Katwe is for you. This simply told and beautifully acted film tells the true story of Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga, a revelation, all poise and quiet strength), a young girl from the Katwe slums in Uganda who discovers that though she cannot read, she can reason – and reason her way eight moves ahead in chess.

Now, chess may not be the most exciting thing to bring to the big screen. Unlike sport, there are no goals or touchdowns, and unlike poker, there is no high-stakes gambling. But the stakes couldn’t be higher for Phiona, as chess slowly becomes the means for her to lift her family out of poverty.

She is coached by Robert Katende (David Oyelowo), a young and talented engineer who, having no wealthy relatives, can only find work as a part-time football coach. In his spare time, he teaches chess to the Pioneers (a rag-tag bunch of Katwe children) and is a tender husband to his teacher wife. Oyelowo somehow manages to play Robert without any trace of irritating saintliness, and is believable and endearing throughout. As we discover in the closing credits when the actors are reunited with their real-life counterparts, the real Robert’s generosity far outstrips what was shown in the film.

Of course Robert doesn’t only teach chess; this is a Disney underdog sports movie, after all. Through the game, he teaches the Pioneers courage, discipline and a fighting spirit, all of which Phiona will need to overcome the hardships of life in Katwe, and the resistance of Harriet, her proud and protective mother, played with prickly dignity by the marvellous Lupita Nyong’o. Harriet worries about not being able to feed and house her children, about not being able to buy them uniforms were she ever able to send them to school, and about the disappointment Phiona will inevitably encounter.

Mira Nair’s Queen of Katwe is compassionate, vivid and beautifully shot. It is moving and refreshing, and a rare close-up of urban Africa. Despite rave reviews, it hasn’t done very well at the box office, suggesting mainstream (white) audiences are rather too conservative in their choice of entertainment. However, as Forbes points out: “If this is what Disney does with at least some of the profits from Star Wars and The Jungle Book then by all means keeping flocking to Finding Dory”. Although you really should see Queen of Katwe instead