The true story behind Deaf President Now!, explained

Deaf President Now! is an upcoming documentary which delves deep into a historic movement that took place in 1988 at Gallaudet University in Washington DC, USA. This university is the only institution in the world that provides higher education only to deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

The documentary film highlights how students, alumni, teachers and staff together agitate for the president of the university to be a deaf person.

The events of the movement in the film are presented through old video clips, reenactments, and interviews with movement leaders of the time. The documentary tells the story of the week of March 1988 when thousands of people united on the university campus and demanded a change in leadership.

Deaf President Now! is set to release on May 16, 2025, on Apple TV+.

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Deaf President Now! - The true story behind the film

According to Gallaudet, in early 1988, Gallaudet University was in the process of hiring a new president. Of the three final candidates, two were deaf and one was hearing.

The university's Steering Committee appointed Dr. Elizabeth Zinsser, a hearing person who did not know American Sign Language (ASL) or have any connection to the Deaf community, as president.

As per multiple sources, on March 6, 1988, students began protesting the decision. The movement was called Deaf President Now!. The movement was led by four students—Greg Hlibok, Tim Rerrus, Bridgetta Bourne, and Jerry Cowell. Students picketed university buildings, marched in Washington, D.C., and made their demands known through the media.

They made four demands: Zinsser's resignation, the hiring of a deaf person, the resignation of Steering Committee Chair Jane Spilman, and no action against anyone involved in the movement, as per reports.

The eight-day protest became a national topic of discussion. Various civil rights organizations rallied in support and the media gave extensive coverage.

On March 13, 1988, all demands were met — Zinsser resigned, Spilman stepped down, and Dr. I. King Jordan was appointed Gallaudet's first deaf president.

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All about production, director, and co-director explored

The true documentary film, Deaf President Now! is a co-production between Apple TV+ and Concordia Studios. The film is approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes long and uses American Sign Language (ASL) throughout the film, with English subtitles. The film features rare video clips and interviews from Gallaudet University archives, filmed in ASL and translated via voice.

Deaf President Now! is the first feature-length documentary by Nyle DiMarco, a Gallaudet alumnus who works to advance Deaf identity, visual language, and inclusion in education. Co-director Davis Guggenheim has previously directed documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth and He Named Me Malala.

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The film, Deaf President Now! explores the movement’s impact on the education system, law, and leadership. It also includes interviews with academic experts, disability rights activists, and historians, placing the movement in the broader perspective of the disability rights movement in the United States and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.

The documentary factually depicts a historic point in 1988, where students and the community together laid the foundation for a major change.

Releasing on Apple TV+ on May 16, 2025, Deaf President Now!, shows how the demand for the right to leadership in an educational institution sent a social message across the country and gave new recognition to the voice of the deaf community.