June 14 - Spellbound (2002), 96 minutes, directed by Jeffrey Blitz, starring Angela Arenivar, Neil Kadakis, and Ashley White.
This engaging documentary follows eight young Americans who seek to win the brutally competitive National Spelling Bee. As we follow them through their daily lives, and to the championships in Washington, DC, Spellbound becomes about much more than an annual contest. With intimate access to home, family, and school, the film comments on community, privilege, race, economics, geography, and education. By the time the spellers reach Washington, we’re invested in them, and the event comes with edge-of-your-seat suspense. Wrote film critic Farah Cheded: “An endearing use of the sports documentary format to celebrate child geniuses… An alternately emotional, funny, and always gripping watch.”
June 2024 CinemaLit - Documentaries: The Real and Surreal
June at CinemaLit features four outstanding and eclectic documentaries. Together they represent the great range of subjects available to the genre. Join us for The Cockettes (2002), Spellbound (2002), Umberto Eco: A Library of the World (2022), and Television Event (2020).
