“Magnus,” a 75-minute documentary about Magnus Carlsen, the World Chess Champion, opens Friday in New York City at Village East Cinema in the East Village. Directed by Benjamin Ree, the film debuted at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival and has received favorable critical reviews. The film is being distributed by FilmRise.
The film explores the life and development of the world’s top-ranked player and it includes riveting interviews with Carlsen that hint at some of the things that drive him and that go on in his mind both during and between competitions.
There is quite a bit of dramatic footage, as for example when he played Garry Kasparov in a tournament in Iceland in 2004, when he was 13.
Here is a movie's official trailer.
The movie will open in Beverly Hills, Atlanta, and Sante Fe, N.M., starting next Friday (Nov. 25), and then expand to other select locations. It will also be available by cable and digital video on demand through several channels, including iTunes. More information about the film and the openings is available at the movie’s official Web site.