The Scripps National Spelling Bee may have been cancelled this year, but you can still get your spelling fix and celebrate the achievements of a Brambleton girl who is featured in the recently released Netflix documentary Spelling the Dream.
Ashrita Gandhari is one of the country’s top spellers. She has represented Loudoun on the national stage on multiple occasions—and can now add the big screen to her growing list of accolades. The rising eighth grader at Stone Hill Middle School got her spelling start in Massachusetts and caught the attention of Hollywood producers after she won a regional competition in the fourth grade.
Starring in the film
The family didn’t immediately jump at the offer, but are happy they did. Ashrita’s mother, Sirisha Gandhari, says they thoroughly researched the film before agreeing to the once-in-a-lifetime Hollywood opportunity. “I think it was really exciting to get to know the crew as well and being filmed by them,” says Ashrita about the experience. “I just think of the whole filming crew as one big family.”
The film explores decades of spelling competition success among Indian-Americans. The team followed Ashrita and three other bee contenders seeking the coveted Scripps trophy in 2017. This was also her first appearance in the competition. As a first-time contender at the age of 10, Ashrita finished in the top 50 out of 300 participants. She placed 35th after misspelling the word elidible — meaning capable of being elided, or to leave out of consideration.
Since filming of the documentary completed, she earned a spot on the stage for top spellers again in 2018 and 2019.
Eye on the 2021 trophy
Ashrita, who is now 13 says, “it was surreal to watch the film.” She is training daily for the next spelling bee, which will also be her last before she ages out of the competition. “The goal is a trophy next year,” she says. “I have been at this for a while now and I think I have a good chance at a trophy.”
Like a regular middle school kid, Ashrita misses school. These limited at home days have left Ashrita plenty of time to actively train for next year’s spelling competition, however. She says she has participated in online spelling bees and her family is frequently quizzing her on words.
Ashrita says the family is preparing her 10-year-old sister for her first chance of making it into the competition.
