Thin Mints, Samoas, Do-Si-Dos, Adventurefuls and Exploremores are just some of those tasty cookies that Girl Scouts all around the country sell annually from January to April.<\/p>\n
Everyone has seen makeshift tables set up in front of grocery stores, had coworkers sign up to buy a box or few in support of their daughters or even experienced a knock on the door or the ring of a bell.<\/p>\n
Many buy the cookies because they love them, and others buy them because they feel they should. But where does the money go? And what benefits do the girls who sell the cookies get?<\/p>\n
Filmmaker Alysa Nahmias answers that question while she addresses the Girl Scout Cookie culture in her award-winning documentary, \u201cCookie Queens,\u201d that Park City Film will screen at 7 p.m. on Wednesday at the Park City Library\u2019s Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave.<\/p>\n
In the spirit of the film, which is appropriate for all ages, Girl Scouts, current and alumni, are invited to wear their Girl Scout apparel or memorabilia \u2014 sashes, badges, troop Ts or vintage pieces, as a way to reflect, remember and connect across generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe film is in many ways about the joys of friendship and belonging, and what that provides for young women,\u201d said Katharine Wang, Park City Film executive director. \u201cIt\u2019s about how Girl Scouts help young women find their way in the world, and (it\u2019s about) how to find your people, a community of people who support you and celebrate you.\u201d<\/p>\n
The film, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, last screened in Utah on Jan. 24 to an audience in Salt Lake City that included Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, an executive producer on the film with her husband, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex.<\/p>\n
From there it went on to the 2026 South by Southwest Film and TV Festival, where it won a Festival Favorite Award, Wang said.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u2018Cookie Queens\u2019 has its own draw just because it\u2019s such an iconic part of American culture,\u201d she said. \u201cOf course Girl Scouts have structured activities you go through, and you win achievements along the way. But the cookie-selling season is so iconic. And as far as I know, there is no other organization for children that has the same level of consumerism. That\u2019s another part of what the documentary talks about.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Olive_and_Celia_in_Cookie_Queens_Courtesy_of_Roadside_Attractions_89fd3dd028.jpg\")
Girl Scouts Olive and Celia share a tasty treat while sitting amongst boxes of Girl Scout cookies in a scene from Alysa Nahmias\u2019s award-winning documentary, \u201cCookie Queens,\u201d which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Park City will host a free screening on Wednesday at the Jim Santy Auditorium. Credit: Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions<\/p>\n
Wang, who is a first-generation American, only experienced cookie-selling season as a parent, more than 10 years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was not a Girl Scout, and I knew about the cookies,\u201d she said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t part of my childhood and not part of my family\u2019s history. So it was interesting to see how well the film has been received.\u201d<\/p>\n
The May 27 screening is made possible through Park City FIlm\u2019s partnership with SheMoney<\/a>, which worked with the film\u2019s distributor, Roadside Attractions, to secure a screening, before the film will be released nationally in August, Wang said.<\/p>\n \u201cSheMoney, as the name suggests, looks at how women empower themselves by being financially literate, and what it means to be a leader,\u201d she said. \u201cTraditionally and historically women have not had the freedom of being financially literate and use that power of leading other women and picking each other up. We have partnered with them for many screenings in the past, around documentaries and women and female voices.\u201d<\/p>\n A pre-screening event, featuring a conversation with Nahmias from 5-7 p.m. is part of SheMoney\u2019s Women\u2019s Voices Forum 2026: Spring Social. Tickets to that event conversation are $35 each and can be purchased by visiting parkcityfilm.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Admission to just the film is free, and the screening, which will be followed by Q and A with Nahmias, falls under Park City Film\u2019s Raising Voices Film Series, a program, underwritten by Park City Chamber, which showcases underrepresented communities in film, Wang said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to see what organizations are doing to empower young women and help them understand how the world looks and how you become successful in business and a strong woman with a strong voice that can be heard,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCookie Queen\u201d feeds into those concepts, Wang said.<\/p>\n \u201cAlysa Nahmias wanted to show the joys and triumphs of cookie-selling season, and she followed four Girls Scouts ages 5 to 12 over the course of one selling season,\u201d she said. \u201cIt also shows the competition and the commodification of childhood.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Girl Scout Cookies is a billion-dollar industry, said Wang, whose favorite Girl Scout cookies are the classic Samoas, vanilla cookies topped with coconut and chocolate.<\/p>\n \u201cSomething I was quite surprised to learn when my daughter was a Girl Scout was a fraction of what you purchase boxes for actually goes back to the scouts and the troop itself,\u201d she said. \u201cYou think it\u2019s a fundraiser like a bake sale where money goes back to the troop and they get to go on more trips and camping outings, but it\u2019s really not that. Most of the funds go back to the national organization.\u201d<\/p>\n When Wang\u2019s daughter became a Girl Scout, only 45 cents from selling a four-dollar box went back to the troop.<\/p>\n \u201cI think now it\u2019s up to $1 that goes to the troop, so it\u2019s a little more,\u201d Wang said.<\/p>\n The film questions that structure and what that means to the innocence of childhood juxtaposed with some of the social pressures and challenges young women face in the world at large, Wang said.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2018Cookie Queens\u2019 is not just cinema verit\u00e9 about \u2018Yay, the cookie-selling season,\u2019\u201d Wang said. \u201cIt is a lot more. What I think is interesting is that the film does have that conversation and that the Girl Scouts, the national organization, is receptive to that conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n The documentary also unfolds in real time, Wang said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s intentionally told in the present tense, so there are no talking-head interviews,\u201d she said. \u201cIt is a snapshot of these young women\u2019s lives \u2014 certainly the 5 year old had a different experience than the 12 year old, who has sisters.\u201d<\/p>\n The film also shows how the girls are encouraged to be entrepreneurial in how they sell the cookies, which is a change from a decade ago, Wang said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen my daughter started selling cookies over a decade ago, it was all handwritten, and we barely used spreadsheets,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was also all cash and we weren\u2019t allowed to use credit cards. Now, they can use Venmo. They can also sell online and take advantage of the resources of the modern era and social media.\u201d<\/p>\n Sure, there are guidelines in place to protect the girls, Wang said.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s been interesting to see things evolve over time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Girl Scouts of Utah has seen the film and are so supportive of the screenings, Wang said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey see the criticisms and want to be part of the conversation, and that is something I really appreciate,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd the film does a very good job to help the uninitiated understand what the Girl Scouts are all about.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Cookie Queens\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n When: 7 p.m. Wednesday<\/p>\n Where: Park City LIbrary\u2019s Jim Santy Auditorium, 1255 Park Ave.<\/p>\n Cost: Free<\/p>\n