Apple Original Films Lines Up Deaf President Now!

Apple Original Films has lined up Deaf President Now!, a documentary about the 1988 Gallaudet University protests.

The eight days of protests were held after the school’s board of trustees appointed a hearing president over several qualified Deaf candidates. The film features exclusive interviews with the five key figures of the movement, including the Gallaudet Four and Dr. I. King Jordan, the university’s first Deaf president, appointed as a result of the protests, and archival and scripted elements.

After a week of the rallies, boycotts and protests led by the Gallaudet Four—Jerry Covell, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, Tim Rarus and Greg Hlibok—the hearing president resigned and Jordan was named to the position. The protests had an impact that extended beyond the Gallaudet campus and paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The film incorporates an experimental narrative approach called Deaf Point of View, which uses impressionistic visual photography and intricate sound design to engage the audience in the Deaf experience.

Deaf President Now! comes from Academy Award-nominated producer, co-director and fourth-generation Deaf advocate Nyle DiMarco (Deaf U, AUDIBLE) and Academy Award-winning producer and co-director Davis Guggenheim (STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie, An Inconvenient Truth, Waiting for Superman).

Accessibility, cultural and communication considerations were at the forefront of every stage of production. Deaf lens producer Wayne Betts Jr. came on during production to help create the visual language DiMarco coined “Visual Noise” and worked closely with the directors to ensure everything from the acting to the way the camera moved was authentic to the Deaf experience.

The team also featured consultants Jonaz McMillan and Lindsey Dryden from FWD-Doc to ensure the Deaf lens was conveyed accurately, inclusive hires were made and resources for accessibility and communication needs were planned for. Overall, over 40 Deaf or Hard of Hearing subjects, cast and crew participated in making the film.

Deaf President Now! is produced by Concordia Studio, with Guggenheim, DiMarco, Michael Harte (STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Beckham, Three Identical Strangers), Jonathan King (Spotlight, Roma, Green Book) and Amanda Rohlke (Stormy, Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones) serving as producers.

“For far too long, the disabilities stories that have shaped the United States have been conspicuously absent from the history we tell,” DiMarco said. “This film not only preserves a pivotal moment in civil rights history but also celebrates the resilience of my Deaf community, whose triumph deserve to be recognized, celebrated and remembered.”

“It was shocked to me that most people, including myself, had never heard of this moment in Deaf history,” Guggenheim commented. “So, Nyle and I felt it was so important to work with all of our Deaf and hearing collaborators to do justice to this important story.”