For the third episode of our special retrospective season, we’re looking back to our season on the awesome movie year of 2003 to feature another documentary pick, Jeffrey Blitz’s Spellbound. Directed by Jeffrey Blitz and featuring eight contestants from the 1999 National Spelling Bee, Spellbound premiered at the South by Southwest film festival and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

The contemporary reviews quoted in this episode come from Roger Ebert (https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/spellbound-2003), Claudia Puig in USA Today (https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2003-05-15-spellbound_x.htm), and Ella Taylor in LA Weekly.

Please like, share, rate and comment on the show and this episode, and tune in for our next retrospective installment covering the awesome movie year of 2007, featuring Josh’s personal pick, Gregg Araki’s Smiley Face.