karen: today on "cityline," my interview with academy award-winning actress the peter longo --n'p luongo. hello and welcome. life in uganda for this nine-year-old is a constant struggle. she spends her days selling vegetables. it's one of the most poverty-stricken slums. school is not an option. her mother is a route and strong-willed woman and work hard to support her family but worries she can never offer them

will change her family's future. noscar-winner'pita luongo walks the red carpet at the toronto film festival with director mira nair, the newcomer stars as the real-life woman presented by disney and espn films. talk with you. tell me what true you to this role. >> what drew me to the story is the fact that it's a true, uplifting story from a place that is near and your to me, east africa. i was so inspired by fiona and her story. she is a girl who was born in the slums, a place where very

she discovers a love for chess. with the help of a mentor, geyser to a platform where she can achieve her dream of becoming a chess champion. >> that was so close to my heart, having achievede that golden statue on my shelf but also launching into a career that i feel so passionately about. to have this kind of story that inspires kids all over the world and also puts a different lens to seeing africa. you often see africa as a

stories. >> and larger scale stores of war and famine and what have you in here we just have a very intimate story about one girl who achieved this dream which change the life of her family. i was happy to do that. karen: you had an interesting emotional reaction when you read the script? >> yes, i was weekend because i role offered to me, the opportunity to play a mother of four who is struggling to keep her family together. it's a woman who sees the world opposite from how i feel. she is afraid of dreaming.

the disappointment that can come out of wanting more than what you have been given. she is preparing heard life -- her children for the life of strife that she knows. she loves her daughters but cannot act out of fear but has to act out of radical hope. >> she has the highest intelligence among all my students. >> you will never see my children again. >karen: this gave you an opportunity to work with ira as well. level wonderful history together.

i went on to be a production coordinator at her film lab. that was 10 years ago and now i'm in front of the camera. i started working with her because i wanted to figure out what i was going to do in the industry. i love her sensibility and the verite and has a background brings that to her work in fiction as well. i truly trust her eye in the fact that she was in uganda was amazing. karen: it must've been special for the both of you to bring this positive story to the audience. >> yes, i knew that mira would

she knows and respects and loves and knows the nuance of life. people in the slums are living in abject poverty but you may not know where your next meal is coming from but you stop to say hello to the brick layer. there is life happening at all times. there's prostitution and murder and theft and robbery and homelessness but there is also innovative ingenuity, there are me people making things in this place. she brings that collision of life, that dynamic to the screen. she can all that having -- she can only bring that from having a deep love and respect. karen: i have traveled to africa. one of the things i loved about the movie was the beautiful

in the movie. >> the director of photography also worked on 12 years a slave. he said there was always something to bring. you cannot replicate it. i was glad to be able to be there. the color we captured is just as it is. the creative department like the costume designer had -- has that i and learned through observation. it's a natural and effortless style of the place. there am many secondhand clothing mentality there. people wear brand names but it's a style that is not premeditated

capturing that. karen: i know you have optioned a few books also telling interesting stories out of africa. >> yes, "americana," is one. it is something in development and it's something i also feel passionate about intel's ato what it is like to be an african in america, the racial come this conversation that is very interesting. karen: we will look forward to that, thank you. the chess academy has transformed several lives.

championships across africa. the academy has centers across uganda today including five in different slums and seven in villages and one in a different community. up next, telling the untold

karen: welcome back, following the success of his graphic novel, a collection of untold stories and african-american history, joe continues to lift up on celebrated african-americans.

americans often overlooked in history books. he embraces his first female heroine. how are you? i just love reading these comic books. there is nothing like picking a new medium to tell about history. why do you decide to choose this medium? >> in a very real way for a number of different people. it's also a sneaky way to get people to read stuff. halfway through it, they realize they just read a book and learn something so it's a good way to get people to engage in interesting topics without having to say they have to read a book.

>> it's based on the w.e.b. dubois lecture. he said we needed a talented class. when thinking about strange fruit which was a series of short stories, i wanted to do stories about those kinds of people. i threw around a number of different naan reading his essay about the talented tannin that would be a good name for a collection of stories. these people who were readers in their own way and because they change the way people saw black people in general. i never heard of bessie springfield? >> she was an amazing woman adopted by an irish lady in boston.

she asked for a motorcycle and then she was gone. she was adventuring all across the country in the mid-1920's. she had crisscrossed the united states in her mid-20's on a motorcycle and -- including across the south and during world war ii, she became a civilian career for the u.s. military. the american motorcycle association inducted her into the hall of an award called the bessie stringfield award. she was called the motorcycle queen of miami when she died in the early 1990's. karen: this is your first female character? >> i have a war of words with people on facebook that we had no women in "strange fruit."

someone asked me and i said that's a male privilege. i just didn't think about it. i didn't think i had to as a man. i recently read something where men don't be asked to put into a feminist movement, -- >> you haven't heard beyonce's song. women run the world. how do i put those voices out there and what should i do? there on celebrated narratives. the next story should be a woman. you think about what happens in

the masters of my household. there was always women there. as a black man and a man in general, it's my job to look at what women can do. karen: can do and have done. >> right, i had to move from a passive understanding that women can do everything to a more passive role and i decided to do she just runs around the world doing amazing things. karen: there are many people on song so how do you do the research? this is very detailed. >> what happens with the research, it starts with somebody telling me a story.

a certain person. once someone says something interesting about someone who does something amazing, i recommend down and start researching to find first-hand references. i talked to people who knew bessie stringfield trying to get information about her life and building the narrative. i used first-hand references to show how that person the world. you have to add other things as well. karen: it's a wonderful book. i was in washington, d.c. at the smithsonian, the new museum of african american history, and i saw your stuff in the museum. >> that's exciting. it gives me chills. my goal in making these books and drawing comics about black

and share with those many people who will listen that black history is 365 days. these stories is what america is about. this is what it is be to be an american. these things don't happen in europe or south america but they happen in america. the black community typifies what it means to be in a horatio alger story. karen: thanks for coming back . bessie stringfield, tales of the talented 10. it's available now. up next, illuminating the latino

pam griffin: our daughter courtney got caught and heroin addiction. doug griffin: our insurance company indicated that courtney's problem wasn't a matter of life and death - so she wasn't eligible for treatment.

she begged... she begged for help, saying mom - please help me. doug griffin: our family's tragedy could happen to any family... pam griffin: we knew we had to save other families from losing their children. kelly reached out to us. doug griffin: she came to my family to learn more. pam griffin: she listened to what we had to say, who we were - she cared about us... she didn't know us. pam griffin: we talked about the ways to remove the stigma of addiction so parents can get help. ction and recovery act - this act will save kids' lives... ...and enable families to get the help they need. doug griffin: we don't want courtney to be remembered for her substance abuse, but rather for her struggle to achieve recovery. pam griffin: kelly believes recovery is possible.

karen: the 14th of boston latino film festival captures the essence of the latino community from around the world. they want to portray an accurate image and represent latinos from spain to latin america to here in the u.s.

? karen: sabrina is the new festival director and joins us in the studio. that was quite a compilation of clips of it looks like there will be a lot to see at the film festival. >> there is an this year you will have more than one

get to see a film one night, it will be on another night. that's a new development. karen: what else is new at the festival? >> we brought back the judging system and for the first time in 14 years, we will be awarding an audience award. it gives more of an interactive feeling and accountability to the audience. karen: from across the latino diaspora. it's good to give people an opportunity to see different portrayals of latinos, right?

everything. we're about family and culture and about life and humor. the nice thing about this year's selection is that it's a potpourri of all of those different themes. for me, it's about changing people's impressions and knowing we are more than just the immigration issue even though that is important. karen: year to have this diversity of portrayals on screen. the theme crosses many areas like immigration and family, lots of things that resonate specifically with latinos. >> one of the things we're also doing is we have a wonderful

pianist's. two cubans and one dominican. it shows the diversity and more of a culture. in the past, people would walk away it's great but it's a little depressing. if you look at this year's selections, they are thoughtful but also you will walk away smiling an joy. >> september is hispanic heritage month. >> that was not a mistake. we had our festival in november last year and this year i said we have to do it during hispanic heritage month. it's a no-brainer. karen: where can the movies be seen? >> they are in three venues.

we will open their but we will also -- the movies will also be seen in northeastern. karen: are all the movies in spanish? >> seminar in english but most are in spanish. karen: even people like me who don't understand spanish can get the essence of what's going on. so this is >> absolutely, want to invite everyone to create a dialogue between latinos and non-lit -- latinos and get people to see another side of us. karen: what else would you like audiences to come away with? >> i would love for them may be

we have been around for a long time but now i would like to take it to the next level. eventually i'd like to bring people in the industry to give talks and get people excited and have people on it. karen: thanks for being here and we are here to support you. check out the bosla september 29-october 2 and check out 150 experiences at art week boston that runs september 30-october 9 throughout the greater boston area. you can learn more about everyone we featured on our program and logging onto our page at wcvb.com and find us on facebook and twitter. thank you for watching and have a great rest of your day.

>> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm veronique. let's begin with our top story for this week. what do you call a teen who loves playing softball, dancing, and eating chocolate chip cookie dough? oh, and one more thing, she has a crown. amelia has the answer. >> you call her katherine haik, miss teen usa 2015. >> the winner of miss teen usa 2015 is...