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's smart, but her environment threatens to strangle her aspirations. Responding to a threat by her school's principal, Akeelah participates 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 an English professor named Dr. Larabee 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 -- but only if she can overcome her insecurities and her distracting home life. She also must get past Dr. Larabee's demons, and a field of more experienced and privileged fellow spellers.
| Runtime: | 112 min |
|---|---|
| Rating: | Rated PG for some language. |
| Production: | 2929 Productions |
| Genres: | Drama, Family |
| Country: | USA |
| Language: | English |
| Home Release Date: | Aug 29, 2006 |
| Director | Credit |
|---|---|
| Doug Atchison | Director |
| Writer | Credit |
|---|---|
| Doug Atchison | Written By |
| Principal Cast | Credit |
|---|---|
| Angela Bassett | Tanya |
| KeKe Palmer | Akeelah |
| Laurence Fishburne | Dr. Larabee |
| Cast | Credit |
|---|---|
| Curtis Armstrong | Mr. Welch |
| Dalia Phillips | Ms. Cross |
| Eddie Steeples | Derrick-T |
| Erica Hubbard | Kiana |
| J.R. Villarreal | Javier |
| Jeris Poindexter | Steve |
| Julito McCullum | Terrence |
| Lee Thompson Young | Devon |
| Sahara Garey | Georgia |
| Sara Niemietz | Polly |
| Sean Michael Afable | Dylan |
| Tzi Ma | Mr. Chiu |
| Producer | Credit |
|---|---|
| Dalia Phillips | Associate Producer |
| Danny Llewelyn | Producer |
| Helen Sugland | Executive Producer |
| Jaki Brown | Co-Producer |
| Kent Kubena | Co-Producer |
| Laurence Fishburne | Producer |
| Marc Butan | Executive Producer |
| Mark Cuban | Executive Producer |
| Michael Burns | Executive Producer |
| Michael Johnson | Associate Producer |
| Michael Paseornek | Executive Producer |
| Michael Romersa | Producer |
| Mike Upton | Co-Producer |
| Nancy Hult | Producer |
| Sidney Ganis | Producer |
| Todd Wagner | Executive Producer |
| Tom Ortenberg | Executive Producer |
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