Who truly excels at Excel? At the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championships, enthusiastic spreadsheeters compete to see who will be the global star of a computer program that many love to hate.

Melbourne filmmaker Kristina Kraskov followed six teenagers on the road to the 2023 edition of the competition in Florida, for her first feature documentary, Spreadsheet Champions.

It’s been billed as a “heartwarming tale of formulas and friendship”.

It’s certainly a quirky subject for a low-budget documentary and Kraskov said it was ultimately a lovely human story.

“We find out what can happen when you just allow yourself to love what you love and you really go for your dreams, despite what everyone else thinks,” she said.

Spreadsheet Champions had its world premiere at SXSW in the US in March and will screen at the Melbourne International Film Festival in August.

Kraskov travelled the world to interview Excel national champions in the US, Greece, Guatemala, Cameroon, Australia and Vietnam.

For some of them, winning in the US equals life-changing offers of jobs, scholarships and better housing.

Australia’s entry, Queensland high school student Braydon, openly admitted he did little training before taking out the national titles.

“I kind of just winged it, then won it,” he said.

His campaign for the global title involved a week of practice.

The laid-back 17-year-old is reluctant to describe himself as a nerd or a geek because he thought there was too much negativity about people who are good at technology and computers.

“It’s important to recognise that the people who call others ‘nerds’ or ‘geeks’ really just aren’t able to do what they want with technology themselves,” he said.

For those like Braydon who have the ability, what does it take to become global champion of the cells?

As well as building spreadsheets, competitors are tested on their ability to find data hidden in documents – and remember the dates of important program updates.

While even an accountant might only use about 20 per cent of Excel’s capabilities, those vying for spreadsheet glory must also know almost everything the program can do, Kraskov said.

“They’re solving different problems and they’re being marked on speed and accuracy, so they have to be really fast. They can’t make mistakes,” she said.

Kraskov, 31, has worked for various Australian television productions including Emergency (Nine), The Dog House Australia (Ten) and Dancing with the Stars (Seven).

Experienced at capturing the action for these shows, she filmed Spreadsheet Champions with a two-person crew and gear that would fit in a backpack – only to discover the challenges of filming in tropical humidity in Vietnam.

“I was a bit freaked out at how much my lens would fog up … it was just me on the camera, so I had to not panic and get it done.”

The production got Screen Australia and VicScreen funding, and support from the MIFF Premiere fund. But the filming was self-financed.

The full program for the Melbourne International Film Festival is out in July.

Two dozen titles revealed so far include the Australian premiere of Julia Holter: The Passion of Joan of Arc, the US composer’s live score of the classic 1928 French silent film that will be performed at the Melbourne Recital Centre.

There’s also the world premiere of When the World Came Flooding In, an immersive installation and virtual reality documentary about life following a natural disaster.

Spreadsheet Champions screens on August 12 and 22 at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image. The Melbourne International Film Festival runs August 7-24

-AAP