Rugby has long been considered a violent, barbaric sport. Gotham Knights is a violent, barbaric rugby club... with a difference...the only one in New York whose players predominantly and openly identify as gay. In a world rife with stereotypes, the Knights dispel the notion that gay men... can't be 'manly men.'

Queens & Knights was selected from almost 1,000 entries as the winning sports story by NBC Sports for their CPTR'D Contest

 
Queens & Knights, produced by Sandra Chuma & Nyasha Kadandara, is the story of how an inclusive Rugby team challenges perceptions of masculinity and athleticism through camaraderie and acceptance. Sandra Chuma is a Zimbabwean-Canadian multimedia journalist and documentary filmmaker based in New York.
 

 
Picture and text sourced from Sandra Chuma's official website: http://www.sandrachuma.com

Picture and text sourced from Sandra Chuma's official website: http://www.sandrachuma.com

Sandra Chuma is an award-winning multimedia journalist and documentary filmmaker based in New York.  Sandra is currently the inaugural Documentary Fellow at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.  Her work has covered a broad spectrum of subject areas including breaking news, business, politics, and sports. 

Sandra's most recent project was PLUS!, a documentary about the plus-size fashion industry, for which she was awarded a 2016 Gracie Award.  She also co-directed and produced Queens & Knights, a profile of a New York City inclusive rugby team, for which she won NBC Sports CPTR'D Contest.  

Sandra previously worked as an executive and business consultant providing guidance on business strategy and technology to organizations in North America, Europe and Africa.  

Sandra holds postgraduate degrees in marketing and journalism, including a Master of Science degree with Honors in Multimedia Journalism & Documentary Filmmaking from Columbia Journalism School.  

 

 

Nyasha Kadandara is a multimedia journalist based in New York. She is a student at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism, where she was also selected for the third semester documentary program. 
 
Kadandara grew up in Zimbabwe and spent two and half years as a financial consultant in South Africa before changing careers. Her journalistic aspirations stem from the lack of solid stories from and about Africa.
 
She has reported on breaking news, West African ethnic community, sports, gentrification, and  transportation in New York. She is trained in using an Olympus LS-10 recorder, Canon C100 camera, and Canon Rebel T5i DSLR and is profiecient in Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, Premier Pro, Audition, and Indesign.

Picture and text sourced from Nyasha Kandandara's official page: http://www.nyashakadandara.com/#!about/cjg9

Picture and text sourced from Nyasha Kandandara's official page: http://www.nyashakadandara.com/#!about/cjg9

 

 

Moving the needle

 

 
What do a female Roman Catholic Priest, a breast cancer survivor, and a gay rugby team have in common? Through 7 short documentaries, we tell the stories of championing change, challenging stereotypes, and taking back power "move the needle". Produced by the 2015 Video Storytelling Class at Columbia Journalism School.
 
 
 
 

 

NBC Sports CPTR'D Contest 1st Prize