Spreadsheet Champions

Spreadsheet Champions is a lighthearted documentary following six whiz kids from around the world as they compete in one of the nerdiest contests imaginable: the World Championships in Microsoft Office Excel.

Finalists aged 13 to 22 showcase mathematical skill, trivia knowledge, Fibonacci code mastery and creativity – all while keeping their cool. Whereas most of us know only about 15% of Excel’s functionality, these competitors have mastered closer to 60%. Packed with memorable characters – from a One Direction fangirl to a finalist from Cameroon who doesn’t even own a computer – the film is peppered with archival nods to the origins of the digital spreadsheet. Quirky and endearing, it celebrates ambition, international exchange and data literacy, leaving audiences with one clear lesson: never forget to press “save”.

– Thomas Streekstra

TALK 

Are you a nerd or am I the cool one? We are going to explore where our audience really belongs, or perhaps more accurately, where they think they belong. True to nerd form, data scientist Eva Koenders (HAN) collects the data and turn it into a graph. But why is knowledge about data considered nerdy while knowledge about music is seen as cool? Pop culture scholar Linda Duits provides insight into this.

Linda Duits is a rebellious and outspoken social scientist with a strong interest in power and society. She specializes in popular culture, gender, and sexuality, and enjoys challenging conventional thinking to uncover why we think the way we do. She cuts through the hype surrounding youth and media, offering sharp insights into cultural developments. She does not shy away from controversy, yet her work is always grounded in current and leading research, with science running in her blood.