Press Page

Praise for Brooklyn Castle

“Irresistibly uplifting. Fascinating.”
– Joe Leydon, Variety

“A wonderful doc. If I could pick only one film from the South By Southwest film festival and bodily force everyone I know to see it, it would be Brooklyn Castle.”
– Linda Holmes, NPR

“A truly wonderful, uplifting film…an emotional experience.”
– Todd Gilchrest, HitFix

“Brooklyn Castle has set the doc bar high this year…this film should be on everyone’s must-see list.”
– Jennifer Medina , The Dallas Observer

“A solid gold hit. Brooklyn Castle is wonderful, funny & moving.”
– Adam Benzine, RealScreen

“Wonderful…it’s hard to imagine the story being any more inspiring, entertaining or captivating.”
– Matthew Odam, Austin American Statesman

“A modern day fairy tale.”
– Sarah Shelton, MTV

“An absolutely wonderfully-produced feature documentary filled with touching, inspirational stories of hope, ambition and perseverance.”
– Tambay Obenson, indieWIRE Shadow and Act

Media Links

• The New York Times: At a Brooklyn School, the Cool Kids Are the Nation’s Chess Champions
• Life + Times blog (Jay-Z)
• MSNBC’s The Rachel Maddow Show: Middle school chess masters capture national title, admiration
• Forbes: Caines Academy Brooklyn Castle tells how Inner City Middle School Wins with Chess
• The Wall Street Journal: I.S. 318′s Crowning Achievement
• The Atlantic Cities: The Dark Cloud Hanging Over the Feel-Good Inner City Education Story of the Week
• The New York Daily News: Mike checks IS 318 chess champs, tells them he is ‘really impressed’
• The New York Times – SchoolBook: Middle School Chess Team Wins National High School Championship
• Dallas Film Society: Young Kings Struggle to Avoid Becoming Pawns in Brooklyn Castle
• Greenpoint Gazette: IS 318′s Chess Team Lights Up the Silver Screen
• What (Not) To Doc – Basil Tsiokos
• Center for Social Media blog (Patricia Aufderheide): Kids, Chess and Public Schools
• ThinkProgress: Budget Cuts, New York’s Exam School System, and the Joys of ‘Brooklyn Castle’
• CinemaBlend.com: SXSW Wrap-Up: Brooklyn Castle, Audience Award Winners And Our Biggest Disappointment
• SXSW documentary premiere earns checkmate – YNN – Your News Now
• Austin American Statesman (austin.com) SXSW photo gallery
• Film School Rejects: SXSW 2012 Review: Uplifting ‘Brooklyn Castle’ Will Take Your Heart
• MSNBC’s The Grio Profiles I.S. 318 Chess Team Member and Brooklyn Castle Star Justus Williams
• Where Geeks Are Rock Stars: Documentary Spotlights an Urban School’s Champion Chess Team (GOOD Education)
• Black Voices: Your Weekend Roundup (Huffington Post)
• I.S.318 Chess Team Wins a Big Battle (New York Times SchoolBook Education Blog)
• Brooklyn Power Company Donates $25,000 to Struggling I.S. 318 Chess Team (New York Daily News)
• I.S. 318 Chess Coach/Assistant Principal Fights Budget Cuts, Pays Out of Pocket for Program (Yahoo!)
• Brooklyn Chess Team Struggling to Stay Afloat Following Series of Budget Cuts (New York Daily News)
• BritDoc – The Good Pitch NY 2011
• Working Films – Reel Education
• The Fledgling Fund – Winter 2011 Grantees
• Chicken and Egg Pictures – Story Leads to Action
• Kickstarter Film Festival

Press Kit

Download our press resources, including full press notes, film stills, and extended trailer.

• Brooklyn Castle Full Press Notes (Word | PDF)
• Brooklyn Castle Film Stills (ZIP)
• Brooklyn Castle Extended Trailer (MOV)

Downloadable press clips

KXAN NBC Austin 3/12/2012 – Brooklyn_Castle
(.mov file – 13MB)

YNN Austin 3/11/12 – Brooklyn Castle
(.mov file – 10MB)

Critics Buzz on Twitter at SXSW

ADAM BENZINE // REALSCREEN

TODD GILCHRIST // HITFIX & Los Angeles Film Critics Assoc. member

LINDA HOLMES // NPR

CHRISTOPHER CAMPBELL // MOVIES.com

MATTHEW ODAM // AUSTIN AMERICAN STATESMAN

TAMBAY OBENSON // indieWIRE Shadow and Act

KEVIN KELLY // FILM SCHOOL REJECTS

VICTOR DIAZ // YNN Austin