Speak.

US, Feature Documentary, 2025, 103 min

Direct to BIFF from the 2025 Sundance Film Festival

Speak. follows five of the nation’s top teenage speech competitors, capturing the euphoria of victory and the devastation of defeat as they craft and perform original oratories over the course of a 9-month season. Their dream is simple: To win the Super Bowl of public speaking, the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Nationals and $100,000 in college scholarships. We watch these young firebrands rehearse wherever they can: at family dinners, on the school bus, in front of a startled pet pig, at church, and, of course, with their coaches and teammates, who are often as close as family. College admissions officers often show up at NSDA tournaments, scouring the event for future recruits. This is the young orators’ first chance to be seen. And heard.

Directed by Jennifer Tiexiera, Guy Mossman

Colorado Premiere