DocFest: Speak.
October 19, 2025
Five bold young voices go on a high-stakes journey to conquer the Super Bowl of public speaking, offering a masterclass in courage, conviction, and the kind of hope that refuses to be silenced.
Co-director Guy Mossman, producer Pamela Griner, and special guests scheduled to attend.
SIFF year-round passes and vouchers are not valid for DocFest screenings.
Tickets
Select showtime for pricing, tickets, and reserved seating selection (see floor plan).
Sunday, October 19, 2025
Speak. follows five of the nation’s top teenage speech competitors, as they craft and perform original oratories over the course of a nine-month season. Their dream is simple: To win the Super Bowl of public speaking, the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Championships. Opening during the 2023 NSDA Nationals, we meet Noor, Noah, Sam, Mfaz, and Esther—the two-time reigning national champion in Oratory—the film follows them to the 2024 Nationals, where Esther is determined to break the record set by in 1999 (by Speak.’s Executive Producer, Josh Gad). Directors Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman take us behind the scenes and into the personal lives of these five competitors, where moments of humor and joy soften the immense pressure of striving for a championship title. Speak. captures the passion, joy, and courage of these unforgettable teens as they use their voices to change hearts and minds, providing the perfect antidote for these fraught times—intense, funny, and most of all, hopeful.
- Director: Jennifer Tiexiera, Guy Mossman
- Country: USA
- Year: 2025
- Running Time: 103 min.
- Producer: Pamela Griner, Guy Mossman, Jennifer Tiexiera
- Cinematographers: Guy Mossman
- Editors: Delaney Lynch, Jennifer Tiexiera
- Music: Osei Essed
- Website: Official Film Website
- Awards: Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2025 (Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights)
- Filmography: Tiexiera: Subject (2022), P.S. Burn This Letter (2020); Mossman: The Human Trial (2022)
- Language: English
- International Sales: The Film Collaborative