Upcoming ‘Deaf President now’ Movie Offers Poignant ‘Snapshot’ of Deaf history, culture

When I asked Nyle DiMarco to share his thoughts on the forthcoming Apple TV+ documentary Deaf President Now in an interview earlier this week, the film’s producer didn’t shy away from exulting its deep cultural resonance to Deaf people everywhere.

“This [event] really is one of the most important civil rights movements of our time, and we definitely don’t want to let this critical history be erased,” DiMarco said. “This is something everyone should know about, and I think the idea of the film is to inspire a younger generation—the teens of today—to feel empowered [and] to take charge, and to take their power back and be proud of their identity, as well as to push for more Deaf representation. Gallaudet University set us up well for that; not only that, but I think staying strong in protest… this is a protest that gave rise to the passage of the [Americans with Disabilities Act].” (The ADA would be signed into law in 1990.)

Deaf President Now, with a running time of close to 2 hours and out a week from today, May 16, chronicles what Apple describes as “eight tumultuous days in 1988” at the aforementioned Gallaudet during which four students led a revolution that would change the course of history. The school describes the so-called “DPN protest” as a “watershed moment” that led to the appointment of the first-ever Deaf president in school history. The 🤯 emoji is apropos here: an institution devoted to the higher learning of Deaf and hard-of-hearing people, then 124 years old, must resort to protest in order to elect a leader that looks like them—someone who’s part and parcel of them. DPN, Gallaudet writes, has henceforth become “synonymous with self-determination and empowerment for Deaf and hard-of-hearing people everywhere.” The DPN protest began on March 6, when a hearing woman named Elizabeth Zinser was named Gallaudet’s 7th president over two Deaf candidates in Irving King Jordan and Harvey Corson. Jordan eventually would assume the presidential post following the protests.

DiMarco expounded further on the motivations behind making Deaf President Now, telling me when he broke into Hollywood a decade ago, there existed no Deaf people working as directors, producers, and/or writers. For too long, DiMarco added, the stories of his community were “co-opted” by the hearing; he was hellbent on changing that narrative. It was a feeling which compelled him to start his own Deaf-led company. Its North Star, he explained to me, would be to always “[tell] those stories [by] empowering Deaf creatives to get behind the camera and share their voice.”

“Growing up, I saw Deaf characters and storylines represented in TV and media, and while it was good to have representation, it was never done authentically,” DiMarco said. “I think Hollywood didn’t understand what the Deaf experience could look like, because we weren’t invited into those rooms where those stories were being crafted. The first project I wanted to work on was Deaf President Now. This was more than just the appointment of a Deaf president to the university—this was a way to show the world that we’re a community… we have a language and what all of that [culture] looks like.”

Deaf President Now director and producer Davis Guggenheim, who’s hearing, admitted he was one who didn’t get Deaf culture, nor was he aware of the history of the DPN protest—this ironically coming from a history major in college. What’s more, Guggenheim worked at ABC News’ Nightline news program in 1986; Guggenheim worked there during the show’s heyday when Ted Koppel anchored the anchor desk.

“I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know about this [DPN protest] story,” Guggenheim said. “It’s meaningful to me… I’ll never fully understand Deaf culture, so it was a privilege to be invited [to make Deaf President Now] by Nyle to tell this story together.”

Guggenheim spoke with humility about the film’s meaning for the masses.

“We both realized the story must be understood from both audiences: a Deaf audience and a hearing audience, and that the neglect [of the history] from the hearing side,” he said. “If you’re Deaf, most people know this story. If you’re hearing, most people don’t know this story. For me, [working on Deaf President Now] was correcting history.”

Guggenheim went on to say, citing the present-day unrest over our country’s Constitution and our values system, and the ever-hostile sociopolitical climate, the DPN protest beautifully illustrates the notion that “collective action can work big,” adding “young people can organize, work together and succeed in protest.” He also stressed his belief that the film, and protest generally, both are things “we need right now” and said audiences hopefully feel similarly when they watch Deaf President Now.

When pressed on his aforementioned ignorance regarding the DPN history, Guggenheim acknowledged having good intentions “isn’t enough.” Before making Deaf President Now, he felt complacency in the concept he was a good, well-intentioned human—but said his prior attitude was “wrong-headed” in retrospect. Moreover, these lessons extended to the production work on the film, with Guggenheim saying it was DiMarco who (kindly) checked him, and offered to teach, when his good intentions run amuck. However “gracious and generous” DiMarco was, the experience was an enlightening one for Guggenheim—it helped him confront his prior ignorance.

For its part, DiMarco told me Apple TV+ always felt like “the obvious home” for Deaf President Now. He said the company “has always been on the forefront of accessibility and empowering the Deaf and disabled community to tell their own stories and to be independent.” Apple, he reiterated, was “a perfect home” for DiMarco and team.

“We’re incredibly thankful to [Apple] for championing this beautiful film,” he said.

When asked about pre-release feedback to Deaf President Now, DiMarco excitedly noted it’s been nothing but positivity all the way down. He said the most crucial response is that of his own community, telling me the people he’s spoken to say they’re confident Deaf President Now will have “great influence.” DiMarco further noted he feels “very lucky” to treat this history lesson with the utmost respect possible. Deaf President Now has a timeliness to it, he added, telling me emphatically “I think a lot of our Deaf audience is feeling very inspired [and] ready to take up the fight again.”

“I don’t think we’ve [communally] ever been as proud to be Deaf as we are in this moment,” DiMarco said. “That means everything to me.”

Guggenheim expressed gratitude for the ability to make documentaries, telling me the greatest thing about them is they intimately take everyone—filmmakers and viewers alike—into worlds unknown. He pointed to a shot in the beginning of the movie in which the camera moves from a noisy ambient environment into Gallaudet’s opened gates, where everything suddenly is “more quiet.” However quiet, Guggenheim emphasized Gallaudet is “rich and beautiful and complex.” The wider world deserves to know that.

“It’s such a great job I have [as a director and producer] to be able to open my mind and heart to something new,” Guggenheim said.

Both DiMarco and Guggenheim said they wish for everyone to watch Deaf President Now and educate themselves by getting glimpses of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community and, pointedly, of their unique culture. That’s what DiMarco said he and his creative team is “pushing for.” He added Hollywood is rife with umpteenth remakes which bear little originality, saying Deaf President Now ‘s approach is “totally new.” Guggenheim concurred, saying to me “we love [the movie] and want people to see it.”

As to the future, DiMarco said he aspires to build on Deaf President Now. Significant though it is, he said the DPN movement really is “a snapshot in history” and there are many more stories to tell. DiMarco has dreams of inviting more hearing people to learn about the Deaf world, whether through more documentaries, scripted series, or other opportunities that come his way. “I hope we can continue to tell incredible Deaf stories and bring Deaf creatives behind the camera and making our history being known [and] making this more than a moment, but a movement that can’t be stopped,” he said.

Guggenheim is down to ride with DiMarco on the journeys to follow.

“What I’m learning now is it’s not enough to make a film,” Guggenheim said. “You have to figure out how to carry [Deaf President Now] so everyone can see it. I believe it’s a beautiful film and hope people see it and be moved, but not everyone’s going to know about it. Not everyone’s going to see it. I want to do everything I can to get see this movie, because Nyle is a big champion of it. I want to see this movie seen far and wide.”