Dir. Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim; 2024
In 1988, the board of trustees of Gallaudet University gathered to name a new president. Despite being a school for Deaf students, Gallaudet had gone over 120 years without appointing a Deaf president and the mostly hearing board had no intention of changing that. They bypassed two deaf candidates and instead picked a hearing woman for the job. As the news spread through campus, the students reached their breaking point and took to the streets to demand that things must change. Narrated by four students who quickly emerged as leaders of the burgeoning movement, Deaf President Now! chronicles the next eight days of protest as a reckoning unfolds in real time. An archival retelling interwoven with immersive sound design and evocative recreations, this is a rousing and urgent celebration of collective action and self-determination. (CT)