Breaking the Bee

For nearly 100 years, the Scripps National Spelling Bee has been an American institution, gaining even more prominence in 1994 when ESPN began airing the championship round. Since 1999, 18 of the last 22 National Spelling Bee winners have been Indian-American, and that streak doesn’t seem to be ending anytime soon. Breaking the Bee follows some of the Bee’s best young minds as they prepare for the 2017 Spelling Bee and their chance to be another in a long line of proud Indian-American students who can spell words virtually no one can use in a sentence. Including interviews with prominent Indian-American journalists, doctors, and comics, the film provides real insight into how a group who make up just 1% of the U.S. population can dominate such an area of expertise. While dedicating their lives to the Bee, these kids ooze charm and are inspirational examples of how hard work and determination can lead to great things. (Cleveland International Film Festival)