A Spellbinding Film Night in Half Moon Bay

Spellbound (97 mins)

Fri Sept 21 at 7::30 pm
The Depot at Johnson House
Higgins-Purissima Road, Half Moon Bay
$6:00 for adults;  $3:00 for Students

"A nail-biting competition film, an engrossing group character study and a wonderfully graceful comedy of manners." William Arnold,  Seattle Post-Intelligencer.

Every spring since 1925, Scripps Howard newspapers has sponsored spelling bees at grade schools across the U.S. This award winning documentary presents the intense, real life experience of the National Spelling Bee as seen through the eyes of eight, driven young spellers. The film travels from the plains of Texas to the lawns of Connecticut, from redneck countryside to the troubled inner city of Washington D.C. On the way we get to know each kid, sharing their private lives as they advance through regional competition, prepare for, and eventually do battle at the national contest.

"An unassailably great film. Anyone who has not seen it assumes it’s good in the most earnest, studied kind of way—good for you. I’ve seen Spellbound four times, most recently with my grade 6 class, and the initial thrill hasn’t waned a bit. For a film about something as staid as a spelling bee, where requests for a word origin count as major plot twists, it’s as sly and disarming as can be."
— Phil Dellio, RockCritics.com

For more info see: Coastside Film Society