Glory to the Queen 2020
Distributed by epf media, 324 S. Beverly Drive, PMB 437, Beverly Hills, CA 90212; 310-839-1500
Produced by Karin Berghammer, Alexander Dumreicher-Ivanceanu, Bady Minck, Nino Chichua, Anna Khazaradze, Linda Jensen, and Sarita Matijevic
Directed by Tatia Skhirtladze and Anna Khazaradze
Streaming, 82 mins
College - General Adult
Feminism; Games; History
Date Entered: 09/02/2022
Reviewed by Jasmine Smith, Reference & Instruction Librarian, Alvernia UniversityGlory to the Queen presents the four members of the celebrated Georgian all-female Olympic chess team. Now nearly forty years past the Olympic competition, the audience is introduced to the women as individuals, each going about her life, whether focused on chess instruction or more intent on her role within her family. The pacing is slow, but the film is engaging throughout. College students and adults interested in history, female empowerment, or Soviet culture may enjoy this documentary.
Viewers may struggle with the fact that some of the women look similar, and, in fact, have the exact same first name. The film addresses this directly; audiences often confused them in their days as well-known international chess competitors. As the film progresses, the audience gets to know each woman, past and present, and by the end, their individual biographies and accomplishments become clear. The documentary makes good use of archival video footage to show the women’s histories.
Surprisingly, the film spends very little time on the Olympics or the women’s work as a team. Given how they are frequently described as Olympians and how they often reference this in their solo and shared interviews, it was surprising to have minimal attention paid to this event. In addition to more time spent on the Olympics (or providing the viewer with a better sense of why this was omitted), the film does require the viewer to pay close attention to people, timeline, and context to fully understand the message, so younger viewers may struggle to grasp the larger concepts of the film. Overall, this documentary is recommended for college through general adult audiences.
Awards:Free Women in Film Best Pitch Award from EWA Network and Film Center Serbia; Zone Film Festival, Serbia, Audience Award; Honorable Mention, Doqumenta Non-Fiction Film Festival; Honorable Mention, SEEfest Film Festival
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