Akeelah and the bee [videorecording] / Spelling Bee Productions, Inc. ; 2929 Productions ; Cinema Gypsy Productions ; Lions Gate Films ; Out of the Blue Entertainment ; Reactor Films ; Starbucks Entertainment ; produced by Laurence Fishburne, Sidney Ganis, Nancy Hult, Daniel Llewelyn, Michael Romersa ; written and directed by Doug Atchison.
Special features: Making of 'Akeelah and the bee'; Doug and Keke: two peas in a pod; Inside the mind of Akeelah; Gag reel; Deleted scenes; Trailers. Title from container. Donated by the Friends of the Oelwein Public Library. Keke Palmer, Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, Curtis Armstrong, J.R. Villarreal, Sean Michael, Sahara Garey, Lee Thompson Young.
Summary:
Eleven year-old Akeelah Anderson's life is not easy: her father is dead, her mom ignores her, her brother runs with the local gangbangers. She is a smart girl, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school's principal, Akeelah decides to participate in a spelling bee to avoid detention for her many absences. Much to her surprise and embarrassment, she wins. Her principal asks her to seek coaching from Dr. Larabee, an English professor, for the more prestigious regional bee. As the possibility of making it all the way to the Scripps National Spelling Bee looms, Akeelah could provide her community with someone to rally around and be proud of. First Akeelah have to overcome her insecurities, her distracting home life, and the knowledge that there is a field of more experienced and privileged fellow spellers.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.