Spellbound

Spellbound (2002) is Jeffrey Blitz's documentary you can watch online on iFILM. It trails eight kids from across the United States as they push toward the finals of the Scripps national spelling bee in Washington, D.C. Sounds ordinary — until you feel how much pressure rides on a single word.

The children could not be more different: a farmer's son, the daughter of Indian immigrants, a kid from a struggling neighborhood, a straight-A girl from comfort. Each comes with their own family, their own kitchen table, their own stakes. One misplaced letter in some obscure term and years of preparation end right there on stage, under the lights, in front of a silent hall. Blitz shoots it like a genuine sports thriller, except the ball is a word like "logorrhea."

The film was up for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar and has long stood as a benchmark for the kids-in-competition genre. It's an honest, often very funny and unexpectedly moving look at the American dream told through one spelling tournament. Perfect if you love docs where real people beat any script. Stream Spellbound (2002) online on iFILM.