Guy Mossman ’95 is a director and cinematographer, best known for his dramatic photography on award-winning documentary films such as Buck (2011), Mariachi High (2012), Bending the Arc (2017), Owned: A Tale of Two Americas (2018), and Feels Good Man (2020). But before his years behind the camera began, he was a Studio Art major at CC, playing soccer for Horst Richardson and spending time off campus snowboarding and rock climbing.
“I fell in love with the Block Plan right away,” says Mossman. “I had a very artistic experience, a very creative experience at CC. I was doing sculptures with Carl Reed. I was doing theater with Thaddeus Phillips and all the people there in the theater department. And then I was playing soccer. And then I would go hiking and rock climbing. It was this experience where you get to try so many things, and you can break any stereotype. CC was that place.”
After graduating from CC, Mossman bounced around, trying out different jobs, at one point even working as a welder on a tall ship, before joining the Peace Corps and heading to Paraguay. It was there that he was introduced to documentary filmmaking.
“It was my first year there and the vice president was assassinated and the country was put under martial law. Everything shut down. So, I hunkered down at the Country Director Diego Hay’s house, and he had this incredible film library. In a way, that was my film school. I had no idea that films and documentaries could be told in this way, in a cinematic, artistic way, that wasn’t so didactic or scripted or voiceover driven. Later, I had the opportunity to make a short film while I was there and just fell in love with it.”
When Mossman returned to the States, he went to grad school for journalism at the University of North Carolina and then moved on to New York to work at La MaMa Theater. After working at La MaMa, Mossman moved to Los Angeles with his wife and film director, Lisa Hepner, and together they started a small film production company, joining forces with a couple other CC grads who were in the area doing documentaries. One of their first films, The Human Trial, was about living with Type 1 Diabetes. The couple worked on the project for nearly ten years.
Then in 2019, Mossman’s niece introduced him to the world of the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) and their competitions for high schoolers. Mossman was busy working on other projects at the time and, while he thought the subject matter was interesting, he was too busy to take on any new jobs. And then COVID hit.
“Suddenly, I had nothing but time,” says Mossman. “I just started thinking outside the box, figuring out how I could learn more about the NSDA, and whether there was anyone I knew involved. And then Mike Edmonds and Colorado College pop up.”
Mike Edmonds, CC’s former Senior Vice President, was a pillar of the Speech and Debate Community and beyond in his years at the College. He was also deeply involved with the NSDA and inducted into the organization’s Hall of Fame.
“I called Mike out of the blue. And he was like, ‘Guy Mossman. I’ve been waiting for this call,’” says Mossman. “The timing of it was kismet in a way.”
Edmonds introduced Mossman to the NSDA’s board and CEO, and the conversation about the production of a film began.
“We hit it off and one thing led to another,” says Mossman. “They gave me the rights to do the film. And they gave me three years to make it.” The film, SPEAK, is now being shown at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Speak dives into the world of five teenagers who are obsessed with writing speeches and competing to become the country’s best speaker. The film explores how the themes within their speeches are reflected in their lives.
“It’s a character-driven film that explores how Gen Z is thinking about social change,” says Mossman. “The film shines a light on how speech programs like this offer transformative experiences in schools and help create leaders who are not just confident but who are principled, self-possessed, and have really thought through a lot of the issues and solutions at a young age. They realize that you don’t have to be an adult to be a changemaker.”
Mossman brought on Jennifer Tiexiera as a directing partner for the film and together they did the final casting. They narrowed the pool of 1,200 nationally competitive speakers down to five.
“It was important to us that these kids had enough going on in their personal lives that connected to their speeches, their performances and the issues they are most passionate about. So, it comes from a place, not just a purely intellectual place, but a place of personal truth and knowing,” says Mossman.
SPEAK follows the students (two from Texas, two from Minnesota, and one from Florida) as they craft and perform original oratories over the course of a nine-month season, working toward the NSDA Nationals. The hope is to win the championship and beat the current record holder, SPEAK’s Executive Producer, Josh Gad. (Yes, that Josh Gad.)
“I really hope that this film can help launch programs all around the country and help superintendents and school boards see the value in programs like this,” says Mossman. “Hopefully, the film will transmit to audiences that this type of program is transformative. Kids ought to have this opportunity. Schools just need to know about it and see value in it. I also want lay audiences just to feel hopeful. A new sense of hope that, you know, we’ve got generations of kids coming through that are so smart and confronting issues head on.”
Mossman is thrilled to have SPEAK shown at Sundance and is excited about the future of this film. He is also thankful for the experiences he’s had that have led him to this point and set him up for this moment.
“CC taught me to try new things and to not be afraid to cross pollinate across art forms or mediums,” he says. “I think it just gave me the worldview that if you want to you can. If you just focus on writing and developing the ideas and building the relationships with people, that you can create something great. CC gives you the sort of confidence to seek out your own opportunities in a lot of ways.”