Speak.

Directed by Guy Mossman, Jennifer Tiexiera
United States
2025
103 mins

Synopsis

Five talented U.S. high school orators prepare for the ultimate public speaking tournament in this rousing, Sundance-selected doc that has echoes of Spellbound (SFF 2003).

Each year, the most articulate and ambitious students from across the United States gather for the National Speech & Debate Association’s highly prestigious public speaking competition, with notable alumni including Oprah, Bruce Springsteen and Paul Rudd. Speak. follows five top contenders in the lead-up to the 2024 edition, as they obsessively rehearse and refine speeches that bravely tackle hot-button social and political topics including race, sexuality, disability and discrimination. This crowd-pleaser from Jennifer Tiexiera (Subject, SFF 2023) and Guy Mossman offers a beacon of hope for the next generation of leaders, and will have you cheering for your favourites as you get to know each competitor up close.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.

Speak. is so rousing and audience-friendly, it plays like the nonfiction equivalent of Bend It Like Beckham
Murtada Elfadl, Variety

Tickets

Mon 9 June 2025, 3:45pm
State Library of NSW
WheelchairSubtitledAssisted Listening
Sat 14 June 2025, 3:30pm
Hayden Orpheum - Cinema 5
WheelchairSubtitled
Aboriginal FlagTorres Strait Flag

Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

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