\u201cWhen they said they wanted us to attend the screening of a film called \u2018Cookie Queens\u2019 as a guest, I was like, \u2018Are you serious? Is this real?\u2019\u201d Hightower said. \u201cOnce we realized it was real, the girls were so excited.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCookie Queens,\u201d a documentary by director Alysa Nahmias following four young Girl Scouts as they race to meet their cookie-selling goals, will screen 5:30 p.m. Saturday at the Davis Theater, 4614 N. Lincoln Ave., as part of the Doc10 Film Festival<\/a>. Nahmias will host a Q&A after the film with two of its stars, Nikki and Olive. Tickets are available here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Also attending the screening are Chicago\u2019s own cookie queens: Englewood\u2019s Troop 26286. It will be the girls\u2019 first time attending a film festival and their first Saturday field trip as a troop, Hightower said.\u00a0<\/p>\n At least 15 troop members plan to attend the showing, and the girls will join the Q&A, Hightower said. The festival is sending a bus to take the troop to the theater for the big night.<\/p>\n When the Englewood Girl Scouts troop asked Block Club readers to help them sell 2,100 boxes of cookies to remain active,<\/a> they didn\u2019t expect their story to reach as many people as it did, Hightower said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The troop has sold cookies at Hope Manor II, 6002 S. Halsted St., for five years, and many of the troop\u2019s grade-school members are relatives of the veterans who live in the Volunteers of America Illinois housing. The girls struggled to sell cookies because neighbors \u2014 already facing financial barriers \u2014 couldn\u2019t afford to fit the orders within their budgets, Hightower previously said.<\/p>\n After the story published, people from across the country bought boxes of cookies, Hightower said. Locally, authors, city leaders, chefs<\/a> and Gov. JB Pritzker reached out to support them.<\/p>\n In about a week, the number of cookie packages sold climbed to 25,000 \u2014 more than 10 times the troop\u2019s initial goal. The troop eventually sold about 34,000 packages of cookies, Hightower said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The invitation to the Doc10 festival is another opportunity that makes the girls feel special, Hightower said. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been amazing to see what asking for help and reaching out to your community can do,\u201d Hightower said. \u201cPeople do care. Even though the world is crazy right now, there are still good people. I think it\u2019s important for the girls to see that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Saturday will be Nahmias\u2019 first time meeting the Englewood troop, the director said. <\/p>\n \u201cCookie Queens\u201d follows four young Girl Scouts ages 5-12 navigating socioeconomic status and identity as they try to sell dozens of boxes of cookies. It is Nahmias\u2019 fourth feature documentary as a director.<\/p>\n Witnessing how the Doc10 Film Festival is connecting the film to local communities is \u201cawesome,\u201d Nahmias said. <\/p>\n \u201cObviously the kids in the film are extraordinary and their troops and communities are amazing, but it\u2019s about looking at the extraordinary young people in every community and how we celebrate the girls who are doing amazing things and going on their way to doing even more incredible things as they as they get older,\u201d Nahmias said. <\/p>\n Three years ago, Nahmias showed her 10- and 12-year-old children her latest film, \u201cArt & Krimes by Krimes<\/a>,\u201d an Emmy award-winning documentary chronicling the life of an incarcerated artist smuggling a 40-foot mural out of prison.<\/p>\n When the credits rolled, she asked for their feedback.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were like, \u2018We liked it. It was cool, mom. But next time, could you make a film that we really want to watch and share with our friends?’\u201d Nahmias said.<\/p>\n Her children\u2019s \u201cdouble dare\u201d spurred an interesting challenge: creating a nonfiction film that is entertaining and accessible for audiences of all ages, Nahmias said.<\/p>\n When people think of Girl Scouts, their first thought might be, \u201cOh, the kids are so cute,\u201d Nahmias said.\u00a0<\/p>\n But when creating \u201cCookie Queens,\u201d Nahmias wanted to dig beneath the cuteness to unearth \u201chow we see girls and women, how early they\u2019re learning about and becoming active participants in the economy, and how their perception of self matches up with how the world sees them,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n As a company, Girl Scouts earns about $800 million a year in cookie sales, outselling Oreo and Chips Ahoy!, Nahmias said.<\/p>\n The film chronicles four girls\u2019 journeys to sell as many as 3,000 packages of cookies, the pressures they face to reach their goals and how their lives mold around their identities as Girl Scouts.<\/p>\n Similar to a Charlie Brown special, Nahmias and cinematographer Antonio Cisneros use the camera to make \u201cCookie Queens\u201d feel like it\u2019s from a kid\u2019s perspective \u2014 though the film\u2019s message is intended for all ages and genders, Nahmias said. Sound, music and framing blend together to bring audiences into the girls\u2019 worlds, she said.<\/p>\n To capture the complex emotions of childhood, Nahmias reviewed scripted films that similiarly center children like Wes Anderson\u2019s \u201cMoonrise Kingdom,\u201d Sean Baker\u2019s \u201cThe Florida Project\u201d and C\u00e9line Sciamma\u2019s \u201cPetite Maman.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese films are hilarious, joyful, exuberant, a little naive and a little painful,\u201d Nahmias said. \u201cThere are challenges that kids face \u2014 self doubt, as well as self confidence and complete un-inhibition. I want people to experience that again, those fleeting moments where you just wanted to be older and felt so proud of something that looked so small to adults. I wanted adults and kids alike to be able to care about these small triumphs that children have.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCookie Queens\u201d will be distributed by Roadside Attractions in late summer, Nahmias said. Fans can stay tuned for the film appearing in a theater near them soon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Support Freedom of the Press<\/p>\n When you support journalism, you support democracy. This World Press Freedom Day, help Block Club raise $20,000 to fuel high-impact investigations that hold Chicago\u2019s institutions and leaders accountable. Make a tax-deductible donation here.<\/a><\/p>\n Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Blank-2000-x-1300-93-1024x666.png\"){kind=spacer}
When Lauren Hightower co-founded the Englewood troop in 2021, it had 15 members. The number has grown to over 30, with members joining from the local veteran housing and nearby elementary school. Credit: Provided\/Laura Evans Media<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Blank-2000-x-1300-91-1024x666.png\"){kind=spacer}
The Englewood Girl Scouts troop have sold boxes of cookies inside and near the local veteran housing development for five years. Credit: Provided\/Laura Evans Media<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Blank-2000-x-1300-92-1024x666.png\"){kind=spacer}
Nalani (Left) and Jillian (Right) are members of the Englewood Girl Scouts troop, which aims to give grade school girls in the community a safe space to flourish and connect with positive role models. Credit: Provided\/Laura Evans Media<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20250504_Doc10_ClosingNight_Credit_Vee_Sanders-1024x683.jpg\")
The closing night of last year\u2019s Doc10 at the Davis Theater. Credit: Victoria Sanders<\/p>\n