The fascinating complexity of high school debate gives way to a portrait of the equally complex racial and class bias of American education in Greg Whiteley's riveting documentary.
Direction
Whiteley turns policy debate into genuine sports-movie tension.
Writing
Kids spit jargon at 300 words per minute—subtitles required.
Director
Greg Whiteley
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Policy debate's 'spread' technique—speaking at incomprehensible speeds—was developed to exclude judges who couldn't keep up, making the film's accessibility-versus-excellence tension literally built into the sport.
Long Beach Jordan's team had to fundraise just to afford tournament travel while their opponents had dedicated debate coaches and research libraries—inequality the film captures but tournament organizers still haven't fixed.
US
