Dalia Phillips

A young man desperate to be connected to the people close to him resorts to devious measures to achieve that desire

When the heiress of a luxury hotel chain is kidnapped at her dingy motel outside Detroit by a band of ruthless sex traffickers, her downtrodden assistant must figure out a way to rescue her.

Akeelah is a precocious 11-year-old girl from south Los Angeles with a gift for words. Despite her mother's objections, Akeelah enters various spelling contests, for which she is tutored by the forthright Dr. Larabee, her principal Mr. Welch, and the proud residents of her neighborhood. Akeelah's aptitude earns her an opportunity to compete for a spot in the Scripps National Spelling Bee.