Meghan Markle says a documentary about Girl Scout cookie sales carries more emotional weight than its subject matter suggests. Speaking Tuesday at a Los Angeles screening of “Cookie Queens,” the Duchess of Sussex joined director Alysa Nahmias to describe why the film resonated deeply enough for her and Prince Harry to sign on as executive producers through their Archewell Productions banner.
The documentary follows four Girl Scouts, ranging in age from five to twelve, across the six-week cookie-selling season that generates roughly $800 million annually for the organization. Nahmias said the project began with a challenge from her own children to make a film accessible to all ages, and grew from her curiosity about how young girls absorb lessons in commerce and self-worth through the sales process. She said she interviewed dozens of potential subjects before selecting four families spanning different regions, income levels and backgrounds.
Markle described her decision to back the project as immediate once she saw an early teaser, recalling that she brought homemade cookies to a meeting with the filmmaking team before formally joining as a producer. She said the film moves audiences more than its cheerful premise implies, pointing to unscripted moments between parents and daughters that surface repeatedly throughout the story. Markle also highlighted the entrepreneurial instincts on display, saying she was struck by how naturally the young subjects grasped sales targets and marketing strategy.
The film builds on a run of strong festival reactions. It won the Audience Award at South by Southwest after premiering earlier this year at Sundance, where critics praised its ability to fold in quieter themes around income inequality and family pressure without undercutting its lighter tone. One of its four subjects, a Girl Scout managing type-1 diabetes, became a particular focus of early reviews for her insistence on selling cookies to a customer despite his own health concerns, then baking him a sugar-free alternative instead.
Nahmias, an Emmy winner for her documentary work on artist Jesse Krimes, said the years-long process of finishing her first feature-length film tested her patience but reinforced her commitment to the project regardless of its commercial outcome. Markle closed the discussion by recalling advice Harry once shared from his military flying days, noting that difficult moments tend to look different once given proper perspective. “Cookie Queens” opens in theaters August 7.
