by Zak Vukelja*
Worth: $12.50
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Mason Braithwaite, Braydon Tanti, Carmina Solares, Alkmini Gaitantzi, Melong Yvan De La Paix, Phan Trung Nam
Intro:
... offers a look into a world not many would be familiar with, filled with tension, and interesting personalities.
Australian documentary Spreadsheet Champions, directed by Kristina Kraskov, follows six teenagers from various nations as they compete for the title of global champion at Excel. Yup, the Microsoft program. In between, the film features interviews with the guy who invented spreadsheets (reckons that he wasn’t very good at school) and various Microsoft employees, including the guy who comes up with the difficult questions for the test.
Mainly, the film explores the excitement, stress and anxiety that the students experience, not only in competing, but also due to the conditions of some the countries that they come from. For example, the religious Melong Yvan De La Paix from Cameroon doesn’t even have a laptop. The responsibility of representing women in STEM is epitomised by Carmina Solares from Guatemala, who also loves One Direction. Others struggle with anxiety and self-doubt, whilst the Australian competitor Braydon Tanti just needs to slow down!
Kraskov shows the emotions that the students go through with humour and relatability. The film gets particularly interesting when exploring these high achieving young people’s individual struggles and how they overcome them. Ultimately, the lesson here is that it’s not just about winning but more about overcoming struggles that you are faced with. Every student is different, and their unique experiences highlight the individual.
Even though the film’s central thesis is admirable and original, and the climactic awards ceremony exciting, it is too difficult to pull the whole thing off to its full potential in such a short running time; perhaps this needed to be a series in order to explore the issues that it brings up more fully and affectingly.
Still, Spreadsheet Champions offers a look into a world not many would be familiar with, filled with tension, and interesting personalities. And to paraphrase one of the people in the film, these students will change the world.
Head to SpreadsheetChampions.com to view the film.
*Zak Vukelja is a year 10 student at Sydney Secondary College Balmain campus, who is conducting a 1-week work experience program with FilmInk.
