About this Event
SPEAK. | FRIDAY Sept 19th | TIME 7:30PM |
2025 | Running Time: 1 hr 43 min | Documentary | PG
Director Jennifer Tiexiera In Attendance
Directed by: Jennifer Tiexiera | Co-Directed by: Guy Mossman
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 NSDA Nationals.
We witness them, their coaches and their parents as they fight to keep school speech programs alive amid budget cuts, book bans and censorship efforts that reach a fevered pitch during the 2024 election year.
The film begins at the 2023 National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Championships, introducing our eclectic orators: Noor, Noah, Sam, Mfaz and Esther, the two-time reigning national champion in Oratory. We follow them to the 2024 Nationals, where Esther hopes to beat the record set by SPEAK’s Executive Producer, Josh Gad, in 1999.
SPEAK captures the passion, joy—and courage—of unforgettable teens using their voices to change hearts and minds. This film is the perfect antidote for these fraught times—intense, funny, and most of all, hopeful.
“...pulls at our hearts with great vigour, whether it be through tears or righteous anger.” — David Opie, Indiwire
“Cinematically eloquent...Speak is enough to give you hope for Generation Z.” — Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
“This sure-fire crowd-pleaser by Jennifer Tiexiera (Subject) and Guy Mossman (Feels Good Man) will have audiences ready to cheer.....the film lays out everything on the table that the USA needs to tackle.” — Pat Mullen, POV Magazine
“...it’s refreshing to be reminded about the power of oratory performance and to hear youth articulate their hopeful visions for the future, free from the cynicism and pessimism that can accompany growing up...SPEAK is a joyful recalibration about the power of dreaming, how sometimes the first step towards envisioning and bringing about a better world is to try and speak it into existence.” — Zachary Lee, Roger Ebert
“Rousing...The filmmakers capture [the participants] in a straightforward and unobstructed way that quickly makes the audience believers in what these kids are preaching.” — Murtada Elfadl, Variety
“..an inspiring and deeply human exploration of ambition, resilience, and the power of words.” — Alex Reif, Laughing Place
// THE DETAILS //
- This event is FREE and open to everyone!
- Plan to arrive early. Pack snacks, bring layers and a blanket (especially if you want to sit on the grass!)
- Libbey Bowl has eleven wheel chair accessible seats. To learn more, visit ojai.ca.gov/CivicAlerts
- We encourage walking, biking, and carpooling. Bike racks are available onsite.
- If driving, street parking is available. Please follow local street signs.
- Forgot to RSVP? No problem, come and check-in with our team when you get there.
// SUPPORT US //
Love attending movies for FREE? to the Ojai Film Society.
// 2025 SUMMER SERIES: IMAGINE A WORLD //
Join us Friday's from July to October for FREE at Libbey Bowl.
- July 25 | Sally
- August 8 | The NeverEnding Story
- August 22 | The Greatest Night In Pop
- September 5 | 9 to 5
- September 19 | Speak.
- October 3 | Close Encounters of The Third Kind
// ABOUT OFS //
Founded in 1988, the mission of the Ojai Film Society (OFS) is to present quality independent, foreign, documentary, and classic films to the Ojai Valley, outdoors, in community for FREE. We are a 501c3 non-profit that proudly reaches over 3,000+ attendees annually through our FREE Summer Series at Libbey Bowl, making us one of the largest free event series in the Valley. Learn more at ojaifilmsociety.org.
// THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS //
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Libbey Bowl, 210 South Signal Street, Ojai, United States
USD 0.00
