A thousand words. That’s roughly the limit for high school students competing each year at the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Championships in the Original Oratory category — a competition that has launched such luminaries as Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Josh Gad, and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
The new documentary Speak., directed by Jennifer Tiexiera and co-directed by Guy Mossman, follows five remarkable teens as they prepare for what has been called the “Super Bowl of public speaking.” Premiering at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, the film captures the emotional highs and lows of a nine-month journey as competitors deliver powerful, self-written speeches on topics ranging from politics to social justice.
Inside the Film
“Speak. follows five of the nation’s top teenage speech competitors, capturing the euphoria of victory and the devastation of defeat,” notes the official synopsis. Audiences witness not only their performances but also the behind-the-scenes struggles of their coaches, families, and schools, many of which face budget cuts, book bans, and censorship battles during the tense 2024 election year.
The documentary highlights the passion and resilience of youth voices, offering what Tiexiera describes as “the perfect antidote for these fraught times in America – intense, funny, and hopeful.”
Spotlight on Esther Oyetunji
Among the featured competitors is Esther Oyetunji, who was pursuing an unprecedented third consecutive national title in Original Oratory. Co-director Mossman first shared a video of her speech that inspired Tiexiera to join the project, comparing the experience to hearing Barack Obama speak for the first time.
Creative Vision
Mossman explains the unique storytelling approach:
See More ...
“We wanted to tell the story from the point of view of the piece that they’re writing — to treat it almost like a character itself — and explore their lives at home, showing how personal stories shape their speeches.”
Production and Premiere
The film is produced by Pamela Griner, Guy Mossman, and Jennifer Tiexiera, with editing by Delaney Lynch and Tiexiera. Mossman also served as cinematographer, while the score was composed by Osei Essed.
Executive producers include Josh Gad (an NSDA champion himself in 1998 and 1999), along with Simon Kilmurry, Lisa Hepner, Christoph Baaden, Abby Ellin, Joseph Wolfe, Polly Wolfe, Schultz Family Foundation, Hallee Adelman, Daniel J. Chalfen, Marci Wiseman, Toby Nalbandian, Greg Schmidt, Sean Bradley, Lauren Lexton, Jenny Warburg, Jamie Wolf, Nathalie Seaver, Melony and Adam Lewis, J. Todd Harris, and Andrea Van Beuren.
Speak. will open theatrically on September 19, 2025, at Firehouse: DCTV’s Cinema for Documentary Film in New York City, qualifying it for Oscar consideration.
