The spelling bee flick “Spellbound” may have lost out to Michael Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine” for the documentary prize at the 2002 Academy Awards, but luckily for viewers, the influence of the quirky spelling hagiography had much more resonance at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival than any entries in the “hack-attack” genre.

The crowd-pleasing “Spellbound,” which followed a group of endearing adolescents as they attempted to conquer the 1999 Scripps Howard Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., made heroes of the young competitors at its center. Confronted by language barriers, economic limitations, and obsessive parental expectations, the contestants overcame it all with talent, character, and heart. But the attributes that made them shine on film were the same traits that likely set many of them apart in their schools and peer groups.

As one (now happily married) former champion speller put it in the film: “I don’t think [winning] really helped me in my love life — my nascent love life. I mean, something like that could be considered something of a liability.”

Many entrants in this year’s festival proved that documentary is a great platform for resuscitating the misunderstood, obsessive, and isolated. A warm-hearted mockery and elevation of geekery abounded in the documentaries selected for program. In the mix this year was a film that followed obsessive video gamers, “King of Kong,” as well as “Piece by Piece,” which documented dedicated Rubik’s Cube enthusiasts in their quests to win speed-cubing competitions.

At one point in “Piece by Piece,” Lars Petrus, the 1982 Swedish National speed-cubing champion, expounds on the rejuvenated interest in cubing today: “The reason the cube is back is basically because the Internet’s made it possible for all these weirdos to find each other.”

Just as the Internet has enabled obsessive gamers to locate one another, exchange information, and increase the popularity of the game, the documentary is increasingly widening the community for freaks, geeks, and fanatics.

In 1997, “Trekkies” made mini-celebrities of the dedicated fans who gather, often in costume, speaking Klingon, to celebrate their favorite show — so much so that the 2002 sequel, “Trekkies 2,” showed the obsessive followings that these obsessive fans had generated by appearing in the first film.

Entrants at Tribeca this year have the potential to do the same thing for break-dancing, jumping rope, among other pursuits. In “Planet BBoy,” director Benson Lee follows international dance teams as they assemble in Germany to compete in “The Battle of the Year.” “Doubletime” follows the gravity-defying skills of young jump-rope enthusiasts on their way to the world championship in Harlem.

At one point in “Planet B-Boy,” a Japanese dancer admits he wasn’t available when his father was dying of cancer because he was too busy break dancing. The admission puts him in the realm of disturbing obsessive, but it eventually becomes clear that he cared deeply for his father, and when his team enacts his choreography in their entry to the international “Battle of the Year,” it is obvious that his dedication has paid off.

The fine line between drive and fanaticism often provides entertaining viewing. The children who yearned to conquer double-dutch at the Apollo theater were exhibiting the same characteristics necessary for the surfers who wake up every morning to breach the waves at Coney Island in the short “Aloha,” the soccer enthusiasts in Michael Apted’s “The Power of the Game,” the Harlem footballers in Jon Frankel’s “Hellfighters,” and even the young children battling autism to perform onstage in “Autism: The Musical.”

In the wake of such Hollywood-generated high school flicks as “Bring It On,” “Stick It,” and “Stomp the Yard,” stage competitions have become a frequent appearance on-screen. In fiction, this typically makes for good stories; in documentary, the competitions provide not just clear plot arcs, but goals, rewards, and an inspiring pragmatism.

Though the success of “Spellbound” spawned such fictional tales as the Starbucks-funded “Akeelah and the Bee” and the Broadway musical “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” the real world resonance of the documentary proves far more emotionally rewarding. Many of Tribeca’s documentaries this year created a sense of community, for both the participant and viewer. No longer toiling away in obscurity, documentary can find a number of aptitudes and provide them a connection to the outside world, making it easier for “weirdos” the world over to find one another.

mkeane@nysun.com