Deaf President Now! Trailer: Relive a Momentous Student Uprising in Sundance Documentary

One of the more moving documentaries to premiere at Sundance this year was Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim’s Deaf President Now!, which charts student protests against the 1988 hiring of a hearing person as the president of Gallaudet University, a school renowned for their education of the deaf and hard of hearing. While the film hits all the expected structural beats of a rousing, inspiring documentary about a historic moment of progress, the directors’ decision to augment the audio of certain archival sections to put one in the body of our courageous subjects is handled with care and purpose. It’s also gratifying to see the main leaders of the movement turn up on camera many decades later and recognize just how far on the right side of history they were. Ahead of a May 16 release on Apple TV+, the first trailer has now arrived.

Here’s the synopsis: “From Academy Award-nominated producer, co-director and Deaf activist Nyle DiMarco, and Academy Award-winning producer and co-director Davis Guggenheim, “Deaf President Now!” recounts the eight days of historic protests held at Gallaudet University in 1988 after the school’s board of trustees appointed a hearing president over several very qualified Deaf candidates. After a week of rallies, boycotts and protests, the students of Gallaudet University triumph as the hearing president resigns and beloved dean Dr. I. King Jordan becomes the university’s first Deaf president. The protests marked a pivotal moment in civil rights history, with an impact that extended well beyond the Gallaudet campus, and paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). “Deaf President Now!” features exclusive interviews with the five key figures of the movement, including the DPN4 — Jerry Covell, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, Tim Rarus and Greg Hlibok — alongside I. King Jordan, as well as archival and scripted elements. The film also incorporates an experimental narrative approach called Deaf Point of View, using impressionistic visual photography and intricate sound design to thrust the audience into the Deaf experience.”

See the trailer below.

The post Deaf President Now! Trailer: Relive a Momentous Student Uprising in Sundance Documentary first appeared on The Film Stage.