Akeelah and the Bee is the story of 11-year-old Akeelah Anderson (Keke Palmer) who is reluctant at first (and fearful of being labeled a "brainiac" by classmates at her under-funded middle school in South Central Los Angeles) to excel in school. However, she becomes determined to win the district, regional, and ultimately the Scripps National Spelling Bee, aided by the able coaching of an English professor (Laurence Fishburne) who, like Akeelah's overworked single mother (Angela Bassett), is slowly recovering from a devastating personal loss.



(Doug Atchison, USA, 2006, 1h52)





A heartwarming drama, Akeelah and the Bee stars Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett and newcomer Keke Palmer in the inspirational story of Akeelah Anderson, a precocious 11-year-old girl who advances from the inner city of South Los Angeles to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, uniting her friends, neighbors and skeptical family in a story of courage that overcomes countless obstacles, defies conventional wisdom and underscores the limitless possibilities of hope, talent and faith.
A Lionsgate and 2929 Entertainment production, Akeelah and the Bee was written and directed by Doug Atchison. The film's producers are Sid Ganis, Nancy Ganis, Michael Romersa, Daniel Llewelyn and Laurence Fishburne; executive producers are Todd Wagner, Mark Cuban, Marc Butan, Helen Sugland and Lionsgate's Michael Burns, Michael Paseornek and Tom Ortenberg.