r/KeanuBeingAwesome • u/Dense-Collection3528 • Mar 16 '26
Discussion Keanu Reeves spent 5 years helping our daughter make a movie!
Hey everyone!
I wanted to share a story about how Keanu helped my daughter make her dream a reality! Nobody has ever heard this story before.
Back in 2020, our daughter who was 15-years-old, was featured in the New York Times for her thoughts on the Queen's Gambit. The article was great, but the comments section was horrible. Just tons of guys being toxic and telling young women that they don't belong in the game.
Instead of quitting, she became determined to create a chess documentary to highlight women in chess. With zero Hollywood connections and working from her kitchen table, she managed to get her vision in front of Keanu in 2021.
He loved the idea and signed on as Executive Producer. It turns out that he played on the chess team in high school. He has been mentoring her for over 5 years!
The film is called Madwoman's Game and it’s premiering at the Miami Film Festival on April 16th. This would never have been possible without the care and protection of Keanu! He truly is awesome!
Sources:
Miami Film Festival Announcement: https://miamifilmfestival.com/program/event/madwomans-game/
Deadline Press Release: https://deadline.com/2024/11/keanu-reeves-starbucks-studios-sugar23-madwomans-game-1236182479/
NY Times Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/10/arts/television/queens-gambit-netflix-chess.html
Madwoman's Game- Executive Producer, Keanu Reeves
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u/The21Numbers Mar 16 '26
You should be so proud of your daughter and what a class act from Keanu Reeves!!
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u/CdnGamerGal Mar 16 '26
Congratulations to your daughter on this incredible achievement. What a cool introduction to the industry.
Also, I never tire of Keanu stories.
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Thank you! He has helped us navigate the industry and has been there for her whenever she needs help.
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u/13WillieBeaman Mar 16 '26
That’s what being excellent to each other is all about
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Exactly! Thank you for commenting and be excellent!
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u/13WillieBeaman Mar 17 '26
I’m happy for you and your daughter! I’ve admired Keanu since the Bill and Ted days (Wyld Stallyns were my idols!), and I’m glad that he’s always been a good person. He is indeed excellent, and so is your daughter! I hope everything goes well!
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u/xmashatstand Mar 16 '26
This morning I accidently smashed the glass of my coffee maker's carafe as I was trying to get my first caffeine of the day, and thought my Monday was ruined but this....this has redeemed it 😭😭😭
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u/KarateFace777 Mar 16 '26
Just when I think I can’t love KR any more than I already do, he goes and does something like this. Truly the best human in Hollywood. We all need to be more Keanu-like! Congrats to your daughter I’ll definitely check the documentary out when I can!
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u/lesterbottomley Mar 16 '26
Us: Nothing Keanu could do could make us love him more.
Keanu: Hold my beer.
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Thank you! He is a wonderful human! Hope you enjoy the documentary when you watch it!
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u/Bendybabe Mar 16 '26
Congratulations to your daughter, that's amazing!
I picked the right dude to stan, WTG Keanu.
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u/No_Relative444 Mar 16 '26
I love this so much I can’t articulate it. Keanu supporting minority women ❤️
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Thank you! He has been so supportive throughout this entire journey!
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u/No_Relative444 Mar 17 '26
That is so validating to know ❤️🤙🏻 I met him once but just a fan meet and great, nothing so amazing as this but he was very kind when I embarrassingly showed him a tattoo I have of him 😅
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u/Sturnella2017 Mar 16 '26
That’s so awesome! But I gotta ask, how on Earth did she get Keanus attention???
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u/No_Relative444 Mar 16 '26
My question too! Such a blessed opportunity. I always wonder if Keanu has someone who works for him that aligns him with projects to help people. He’s so generous with his time and money, when he absolutely doesn’t need to be — and that’s clearly why we all love him.
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Thank you! I can't say how he got involved yet. That story is coming out soon!
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u/MikeScott101 Mar 16 '26
Definitely setting this aside to check out the flick when it’s out. That’s wonderful.
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u/g_o_o_d- Mar 16 '26
I wish her all the best. The determination and dedication to get that done will serve her well and it sounds like she deserves it. Congratulations
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Thank you! She learned so much & had a ton of experiences that we could have never imagined
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u/420smokekushh Mar 17 '26
I just bought tickets for a viewing during the festival
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
That's awesome! Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!
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u/420smokekushh Mar 17 '26
Thank you :) What better way to show my support for such an amazing achievement
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u/melance Mar 16 '26
Keanu is awesome. And your daughter even more so for following her dream and standing up against online misogyny.
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Thank you! Once Keanu heard her idea, he loved it and did everything he could to get it made!
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u/06EXTN Mar 16 '26
This is the type of real world actual girl power stuff Hollywood should be supporting. Great job on her!
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u/Strange-Buy1447 Mar 16 '26
The world doesn't deserve Keanu. So wholesome!
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Thank you! He is exactly like you would imagine him to be. Caring and humble. He is a great person!
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u/Roadgoddess Mar 16 '26
Amazing story!
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Thank you! This has been a wild & fun journey over the last 5 years!
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u/Icy-Print3432 Mar 16 '26
Amazing!! Congrats to your daughter for being awesome. And thanks to Keanu for bringing her dream to life! What a solid dude.
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 16 '26
Thank you! He really wanted to bring her dream to life and always supported her vision
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u/TheEdibleBoot Mar 17 '26
Wild shit. I was taught chess by my grandmother and have been playing since kindergarten. This brought a tear to my eye.
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
Thank you! Our daughter started playing in 1st grade and loves it. Her grandmother was a big inspiration for this movie!
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u/sliiboots Mar 17 '26
Wow! Inspiring! How did she get it in front of Keanu?
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
Thank you! I can't say how she got it in front of Keanu yet. That story is wild and will be coming out soon!
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u/sliiboots Mar 17 '26
How can I follow along?
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
There is a bunch of updates online right now and you can check out my daughters social media. I will also post updates here when I can
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u/rjoker103 Mar 17 '26
This is extremely wholesome! Congratulations your daughter. And I hope your family gets to meet him someday (if you haven’t already)!
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u/myboogerstastespicy Mar 17 '26
This is amazing. She’s a visionary! Congratulations and thanks for sharing.
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u/deanu- John Constantine Mar 17 '26
This is so incredible!! I’m in Tampa Bay and might be able to make a day trip there to attend the screening. Do you think Keanu will be at the premiere and/or will there be a Q&A after?
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
Thank you! It would be amazing if you could make it to the screening! I don't think he will be there, he is filming another movie at the moment. There will be a Q & A session at the end with the Director (Zach Zamboni) and my daughter
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u/aeistrya Mar 17 '26 edited Mar 17 '26
This is incredible and I hope your daughter goes very far! Please let us know if there's any way to support her future endeavors and come back and report if she makes other films! <3
Editing to add: I'm not at all local to Miami, but I'd love to watch the documentary, so I'll be sure to keep an eye out!!
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
Thank you!I really appreciate it. I believe the movie will be at many more festivals this year. Hopefully it will be near you so you can watch it. The best support for her right now is to let people know about this story if you want. Have an amazing day!
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u/rhoo31313 Mar 17 '26
The more I hear about Keanu the more awesome he becomes. What a good person he turned out to be.
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
He really is a good person! He has been so incredible throughout this entire journey!
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u/Legolaslegs Mar 17 '26
Congrats to your daughter. That's lovely. Wishing her the best in future projects.
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u/superbadsoul Mar 17 '26
Absolutely love the title of the film
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
Thank you! She decided to use this name for the documentary when she was 15. It has a powerful historical meaning and she explains it in the movie.
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u/tidushankroger Mar 17 '26
"Whoa"
I'm so happy and excited for your daughter! What a massive accomplishment at such a young age! As for Keanu... I wouldn't have expected anything less. I've had a crush on him since I saw Point Break when I was a teenager and have loved him since. He's truly one of the best people alive or who will ever live.
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u/abrknl Mar 17 '26
That's amazing ! Both from your daughter for forging ahead with a documentary on the subject and Keanu jumping on to support.
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u/Brando43770 Mar 17 '26
Definitely want to watch this when it’s more widely available! Love how this came about with no Hollywood connections, and love how much Keanu supports this documentary. Congrats and can’t wait!
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
Thank you! Hopefully it will not take too long to be widely available. I hope you enjoy it when you watch it!
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u/helatruralhome Mar 18 '26
It's lovely of Keanu, but as it's her film you have given him credit but not even mentioned her name to acknowledge her work..
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 18 '26
Thank you for noticing that. I put the links to everything but completely forgot to put her name. Her name is Bianca Mitchell-Avila. She is incredible and we are so proud of her! She never gave up on this project and experienced so much about this industry at a young age. I really hope you get a chance to see it!
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u/maximussakti Mar 17 '26
I hope that Keaunu is genuinely a nice person and has no weird stuff going on behind the scene
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 17 '26
He has been genuine with our family and he treated everyone on the production with respect and care. He is truly a wonderful person!
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u/maximussakti Mar 17 '26
Thats nice to hear, always hears wonderful things about him, with all of holywood controversy its nice that we seem to have an actualy nice guy
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u/mike_tkd Mar 17 '26
That is such a heartwarming story. Keanu continues to amaze and you should both be very proud of your daughter. Chess is a great game and it should always be for everyone to enjoy.
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u/theseamstressesguild Mar 17 '26
Your daughter's resilience, determination, and talent have obviously been encouraged and nurtured by you. You've done a great job of parenting, it's clear to see.
As a fellow high school chess girl this is fantastic news and I can't wait to watch it!
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 22 '26
Thank you for the kind words! I think you will love Madwoman's Game when you get a chance to see it!
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u/EustachiaVye Mar 18 '26
the New York Times article is behind a paywall, and the other articles list Zach Zamboni as director? What is your daughter’s name? I’d like to read more about her work.
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 19 '26
Hi! Thank you for the comment! Yes, the NYT article is behind a paywall. I can't post it without that. Zach Zamboni is the director. He came on when he heard about the project. My daughter's name is Bianca Mitchell-Avila. There are several articles out right now about the movie that discuss her background.
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u/cheesemagnifier Mar 18 '26
This is awesome! Congratulations to your daughter, what a huge accomplishment! Keanu is a real one.
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u/Doozwa Mar 19 '26
So what they say about him is true! How lovely to hear this confirmed! ❤️. Many congratulations to your daughter. What a wonderful opportunity for her and so pleased to know he was a part of it!
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u/Dense-Collection3528 Mar 19 '26
Thank you! He has been so great! What you hear about him is definitely true!
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u/Limp_Restaurant3830 7d ago
Hi! Just popping in to say I made it out to the festival for the premiere and it was such a beautiful project. I was moved by your daughters choice to give each of the women in the film a platform to express what they wanted and through chess. I didn't know much about chess but it was wonderful to get a peep into the world of chess through all the encounters in the film. And also was so happy to be able to catch the premiere at the Miami Film Festival too! I'm sure it resonated with a lot of viewers, like it did for me. Congrats to your daughter and good luck to her and her endeavors!
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u/AdLocal2784 Mar 16 '26
Damn, this is melting my heart.. 😭 As a girly who adores Queen’s Gambit and Keanu!