Interview by Paul Salfen, Text by Christine Thompson for AMFM Magazine
Girl Scout Cookie season is one of America’s most familiar rituals—boxes stacked on folding tables, determined kids in uniform, parents hovering nearby. But in Cookie Queens, director Alysa Nahmias peels back the sugar-coated surface to reveal something far more complex: the real joys, pressures, and quiet tensions that shape young girls as they learn the rules of the game. In a conversation with AMFM Magazine’s Paul Salfen, Nahmias opens up about the honor of telling these stories, the extraordinary clarity of the girls she filmed, and why the film is ultimately about taking kids seriously.
When Paul Salfen sat down with Alysa Nahmias, the excitement was immediate. “Oh my gosh, what a great, what a sweet movie,” Salfen said. “You got to be so excited to get this out there in the world.” Nahmias didn’t hold back. “Super excited. The girls in the film and myself and my team—it’s just going to be awesome to have the world meet them.”
Cookie Queens follows real girls—Ara, Shannon Elizabeth, Nikki, and Olive—through the high-stakes world of cookie sales. It is a coming-of-age story that captures both the pure thrill of the season and the harder lessons that come with it: rejection, competition, fairness, and the quiet calculation of what it takes to succeed. Nahmias, who directed and co-wrote the film, describes the experience as both a joy and an honor. “It was an honor to work with these kids, to tell their story,” she said. “This world is visually interesting. It’s super entertaining. And it also speaks to some bigger universal themes that I think we all can understand—whether you’ve been involved with Girl Scout cookies or not.”
What struck both filmmaker and interviewer was how articulate and self-aware the girls already are. Salfen noted how grown-up their thinking felt. Nahmias pushed further: “I do think there is a way in which these girls have an extraordinary capacity to articulate what they’re feeling and thinking. I think a lot of kids do think about this stuff. They want to know what’s fair. They want to know how things work. They want to know why.”
That constant “why” is central to the film’s power. Nahmias believes adults often miss it. “If we take a few minutes to listen and take kids seriously, we might actually be reminded about some things that are pretty important to ask ourselves about the way the world works.”
When asked what advice she would give young people who might watch the film and see a path they want to follow, Nahmias reached for a Girl Scout principle she has come to embrace. “One of the Girl Scout mottos… is not asking for permission. And I would say that’s a good thing. When it comes to following your calling… don’t wait for anyone else to tell you it’s okay. Don’t wait for anyone else to tell you it’s enough. Just find a way to make it happen.”
She also offered a quieter, deeper piece of guidance drawn from her own meditation practice. In a culture that constantly demands more, she returns to a simple mantra: “I have enough.” “So many of us, we do have enough if we look around and if we feel inside,” she said. “That’s something that I think we can remind ourselves of—just being grateful for whatever it is that we do have.”
At its core, Cookie Queens is not simply about selling cookies. It is about the constructed nature of the systems we all inhabit. The girls are learning the rules of a game, Nahmias explained, “and not that any individual can change it, but because it’s constructed, we could change things. Things don’t have to be the way they are.” She hopes the film sparks conversations about how we educate children—not just teaching them “this is the way it is,” but showing them that different ways are possible.
Produced by Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw, Alysa Nahmias, and Jennifer Sims, and executive produced by a notable list that includes Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Cookie Queens arrives as both a celebration of girlhood and a thoughtful examination of the pressures that come with growing up ambitious in America.
As the interview closed, Salfen offered a personal note—he has lived the cookie-selling life as a parent. Nahmias smiled and wished his daughter well, even if that particular chapter has closed. “I always buy them now,” she added. A small, perfect coda to a film that understands both the sweetness and the seriousness of the season.
