First Festival Screening – Friday, May 1 @ 3:30pm

In Budapest during the 1970s, Lazlo Polgar decided to test his theory that “geniuses are made, not born” by raising his three daughters, Susan, Sofi and Judit, to be chess champions. Isolated from the world outside their apartment, the girls spent all their time studying and practicing chess. Despite opposition from Communist authorities, Laszlo continued his ’experiment’ with remarkable results. This fascinating documentary vividly traces how these Jewish-Hungarian sisters took the chess world by storm, breaking down gender barriers as they rose to the top. Going head-to-head with male Grandmasters, they proved, as their father believed, that gender isn’t an obstacle in chess.

– TJFF Festival Film Page