Word Wars (2004)

Directed by

Eric Chaikin, Julian Petrillo

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 20m

Rating

6.4 of 10 from 27 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary follows four dedicated Scrabble players as they prepare for the 2002 national championship. It shows their training, rivalries, and personal lives over nine months.

competitiveintimatequirkytenseobservationalnichefocused

What happens

Word Wars: Tiles and Tribulations on the Scrabble Circuit is a 2004 American documentary film directed by Eric Chaikin and Julian Petrillo about competitive Scrabble. The film was an official selection at the 2004 Sundance film festival, had a 25-city theatrical run, was included as part of the Discovery Times Channel's "Screening Room" series, and was nominated for numerous awards, including a 2004 Documentary Emmy for "Best Artistic or Cultural Programming" and an International Documentary Association (IDA) Award. The film is distributed by 7th Art Releasing. The film follows four players in the nine months leading up to the 2002 National Scrabble Championship, which was held in San Diego, California: Joe Edley, Matt Graham, Marlon Hill, and Joel Sherman. These players, as does Chaikin, also appear in Stefan Fatsis's book Word Freak. Fatsis and Chaikin are both tournament Scrabble players themselves. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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