Bible Quiz

Filmmaker Nicole Teeny won the Grand Jury Award at Slamdance for this compelling and sincere documentary about a 17-year-old trying to find her place in the world. Mikayla Irle belongs to a small church group in Tacoma, WA, that participates in competitions in which teenagers offer Bible recitations. In this case, the recitation is not based on oratorical skills, but rather on speed and massive memorizing, requiring huge chunks of biblical verse to be quoted verbatim in a rapid-fire manner. Mikayla is part of a three-person team from her church that is aiming at the national Bible Quiz championship; team captain J.P. O'Connor is eager to come home with first prize. But Mikayla finds her concentration skills challenged due to a growing infatuation with tall, handsome J.P. Complicating matters is Mikayla's domestic life: she lives with a divorced, alcoholic mother who is not supportive of her daughter's Bible Quiz efforts. Teeny does a remarkable job here, taking a pair of traditionally thorny subjects—evangelical Christianity and teen love—and blending them together without the slightest hint of condescension or stereotypes. While some secular-minded viewers might be surprised at the intellectual ferocity displayed by the teen competitors here, it will be easy to sympathize with Mikayla's plucky yet also painful attempts to find a comfort zone in a complex and often hostile world. Highly recommended. (P. Hall)