Spelling the Dream takes a close look at the little Indian-American geniuses who make it to the top and win the Scripps National Spelling Bee and have been doing for more than two decades. The Netflix documentary produced by Chirs Weller and directed by Sam Rega will focus on 7-14-year-old Indian-American spelling prodigies, especially one competitor who has won the national championship for 12 consecutive years.
Release Date
Formerly known by the name ‘Breaking the Bee’, ‘Spelling the Dream’ will release on 3rd June. The film will feature four Indian-American students and spelling masters, Akash, Ashrita, Shourav, and Tejas as they hustle to become national champions. Akash made it to the Scripps National Spelling Bee at the age of six in 2016, becoming the second-youngest participant ever. He is participating in spelling bee competitions since the age of two and has appeared on television in the popular NBC show ‘Little Big Shots’ hosted by Steve Harvey.
Ashrita hopped from the 7th place to the 3rd place and then to the 2nd place within 3 years in the regional spelling bee competition. In the year 2017, she’s ambitious about winning the regional level and finally enter the Scripps National Spelling Bee and win that one as well. Shourav is aspiring to return to the Scripps National Spelling Bee one more time after being the winner at North South Foundation Spelling Bee and the South Asian Spelling Bee. Tejas, an 8th grader, is a hot favorite participant to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee as he is making to the finals every time for the last three years.
Trailer
The documentary will also have interviews with CNN correspondents Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Fareed Zakaria. Scripps National Spelling Bee Host Kevin Negandhi, Comedian Hari Kondabolu, former Scripps national winners Nupur Lala and Balu Natarajan will among others who will be interviewed.
The trailer gives us a sneak peek into the 80-minute documentary. “These kids have put more time into spelling by the time they’re 13 than most of us put into anything our entire lives,” says one of the interviewees.