Other than the main character twirling around her room to the Grateful Dead’s “American Beauty” in a scene of self-discovery, the most famous scene from the short-lived TV series “Freaks and Geeks” is when the A.V. instructor tells the outcasts that their time will come.

“Enjoy the simple pleasures in life,” he says, until the cool kids realize they peaked in high school.

Well, the critically acclaimed documentary “Speak.” follows five American high school students who don’t wait until college or beyond to do something great. They are all very fierce, passionate outcasts in their own ways, and that makes them, yes, very cool in the end.

At the Boulder International Film Festival this weekend, “Speak.” (2025) will make its Colorado premiere at 5 p.m. Friday at First United Methodist Church, 1421 Spruce St., Boulder. The film runs 103 minutes long.

Directed by Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman, “Speak.” began production in 2020 and was originally intended as a series — one that could’ve been a real-life “Freaks and Geeks.” From a Sudanese immigrant (Mfaz) to a gay kid who was horribly bullied online (Sam) to a quiet boy with Asberger’s Syndrome (Noah) coming to terms with his mother’s suicide, “Speak.” zooms in on kids who find their literal and metaphorical voices by stepping on stage at incredibly intimidating public-speaking competitions, traversing local matches until they reach the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Nationals, also known as the “Super Bowl of public speaking.”

Mfaz brilliantly and bravely uses lessons from “Sesame Street” to envision and plead for a more empathetic society, one where our differences are just chances to learn from each other, not reasons to hate and wage war. Sam speaks of American bigots “weaponizing nostalgia,” i.e. speaking glowingly of the past as a way to shut out people who have earned their place in the American present. Noah digs deep, shocking even his worried father, by using his speech to advocate for those who choose suicide.

From the “smalls” to the “bigs” to the “majors” and then nationals, “Speak.” shows how “original oratory” teaches kids that being yourself is powerful. Being yourself — embodying and conveying your deepest beliefs and passions — can even be a sport if you’re a competitive public speaker. The five kids the film follows show moviegoers over and over the point is not whether or not you agree with the content of their speeches, but whether you open yourself up to their unique humanity and the experiences that have shaped how they see the world.

One of the most striking moments in the film is when an adult tells Sam his delivery would be more believable if he was less enthusiastic, which is a hell of a thing to say to an openly gay teenager, especially one who is engaging in competitive speaking, in part, because it’s one of just a few places he can fully express who he is. Mfaz, for her part, speaks of the “lunchbox shame” of being a Muslim girl who takes food to school the other kids haven’t heard of, and asks the world to focus on celebrating what we love, not latching on to hatred.

Watching the kids train and compete is mesmerizing and inspiring, and hearing them pour their hearts out about crucial issues like gun control is downright beautiful.

Tiexiera and Mossman did a remarkable job putting a microscope on the kids, sometimes involving the parents and coaches for little glimpses, but it would’ve been illuminating to zoom out a little — in a slightly longer film or even a series — to get a grasp of the metrics the judges work with, discuss the culture and the history and the experience with them, and even those who have followed teenage oratory competitions for years.

That said, “Speak.” is more than another competition documentary; it succeeds as a joyful, insightful look at five kids with a lot to say, and the guts to get on stage and say it.