Spreadsheet Champions
Six young people from around the globe channel their dreams into a competition with a difference: a test of their elite mastery of Microsoft Excel.
Microsoft Excel as a competitive sport might sound like a range error – but for quirky US child prodigy Mason, laidback Queensland teen Braydon and extroverted Guatemalan would-be YouTuber Carmina, along with diligent Nam from Vietnam, shy Alkmini from Greece and ambitious De La Paix from Cameroon, their intricate knowledge of the app is an opportunity for not only individual success but also national glory. Selected to participate in the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championships – a Florida event gathering teens and young adults from around the world to demonstrate their mathematical prowess, problem-solving skills, and familiarity with the most obscure Excel formulas and functions – each seeks to be crowned the world’s best competitive spreadsheeter. Who will conquer the cells and sheets, and who will go home with #NULL! points?
Travelling the world to follow these six competitors from their homes on five different continents to the pressure-cooker environment of the Florida championships, Australian filmmaker Kristina Kraskov crafts an observational feature documentary that will delight fans of Spellbound (MIFF 2003) and The King of Kong. Suspenseful and heartwarming, Spreadsheet Champions captures the challenge of performing at an elite level while also navigating the volatile, identity-forming time of adolescence.
“A heartfelt look at the crossroads of technology and humanity … proves that while there’s no formula for computing friendship, there is potential for camaraderie in every situation.” – Film Obsessive