ThinkFilm is 'Spellbound'

Rights acquired to National Spelling Bee docu

By CHARLES LYONS

One-year-old Gotham distrib ThinkFilm will lend its brainy name to "Spellbound," which it will release in North America next spring.

The Jeff Blitz-helmed doc has excelled on the film festival circuit, last screening at the Toronto Intl. Film Festival. Sean Welch produced to the pic.

"Spellbound" presents the real-life experience of the National Spelling Bee as seen through the eyes of eight driven, young spellmeisters who compete for the top prize. Film shows the private lives of the students as they train for and compete in the intellectual showdown. Within their stories, viewers discover their personalities, their obsessive study habits and their sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes inspiring family dynamics, as well as the story of America itself.

Awards accrue

In March, "Spellbound" premiered at South by Southwest Film Festival, where it won the documentary Jury Award. It went on to win the Audience Award and the Special Jury Prize at the Los Angeles Film Festival, the Audience Award at the San Francisco Docfest and best documentary at the Woodstock Film Festival.

The film marks the feature debut of both Blitz and Welch, who previously collaborated on Blitz's USC graduate film "Wonderland," which starred George Segal.

" 'Spellbound' is a sensational film, full of laugh-out-loud humor, nail-biting suspense and lots and lots of heart," said Mark Urman, head of ThinkFilm distribution. "It was the most entertaining movie we saw in Toronto, and the fact that it is a documentary is almost incidental."

Added Blitz, "We are absolutely thrilled that 'Spellbound' is now included with ThinkFilm's enviable collection of releases, and we are confident their smart, hands-on approach to marketing and distribution will serve both of us well."

ThinkFilm has released Merchant Ivory's "The Mystic Masseur," Peter Care's "The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys" and Laurent Cantet's "Time Out." Currently in release is the Italian comedy "The Last Kiss." Next up: Peter Mattei's ensemble drama "Love in the Time of Money," opening in November, and Gus Van Sant's "Gerry," starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck.

Blitz and Welch were repped in the ThinkFilm deal by Cinetic Media and Submarine Entertainment.