Deaf President Now!

Watched at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

The Deaf President Now! Movement has been forgotten and with this new documentary, it is an ambitious and well-intended story that explores the historic moment of the Deaf President Now! Movement with great insightful explorations and some of the best editing and sound designs of recent times for documentaries.

Many of the participants and discussions are directly used well, blended with the archival footage, sound designs and inspiring moments that allows the viewers to be drawn into the political dynamics. Getting into the time period and getting into their shoes. You feel for those who are going through that event and observing the politic tension and moments in that time era, you feel a sense of anger, purpose, and the disfunction that the deaf community was going through and how they fought for themselves. Despite having some moments that does feel repetitive with it's length, Directors Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim have successfully discussed a subject that shouldn't be forgotten.

This is of the greatest documentaries I have ever seen and I believe it's going to go down as a modern classic! This is why I love documentary! It inspires you, educates you, makes you mad, makes you laugh, it makes you cry. It brings you on this intimate journey with people you wouldn't otherwise know existed in historical events (past or present) you wouldn't otherwise have heard of.

This film tells a story of a deaf university that elects a hearing president and the students fight to be heard and respected in a hearing world not designed with them in mind. It is such a roller coaster of ups and downs. The audience in my theatre was so immersed and invested, with quiet cheers, boos and awws. Zinser and Spilman truly come across as heartless people in this film making you root for the students of Gallaudet even more!

I hope to see this film win this years best documentary at the Oscars!

My wife and I recently watched Deaf President Now (2025) on Apple TV. The documentary tells the powerful story of Gallaudet University-the only deaf college in the world-located in northeast Washington, DC (just down the street from our house). In 1988, the school was at a crossroads when it announced a new president. Despite having two qualified deaf candidates, the board chose a hearing individual who couldn't sign and had no real understanding of deaf culture. Founded 124 years earlier by Abraham Lincoln, Gallaudet had never had a deaf president-and the students decided it was time for that to change. What followed was a peaceful yet powerful protest that shut down the campus and gained national attention.

The film is co-created by Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), and it's a beautifully crafted, deeply moving documentary. It felt especially personal and unique to me, given how close the college is to home. The DC backdrop is subtle, but for local residents, it resonates.

The heart of the story lies in its student leaders-how each one brought their unique skills and perspectives to organize and unify their community. As the film dives into their individual backgrounds, you get a real sense of their family histories, struggles, and determination to break barriers that others like them never had the chance to. You could feel the years of dismissal, marginalization, and silence finally boiling over. When a president with no connection to the deaf community was appointed, it was the final spark-and they weren't going to stand for it.

One moment in particular brought tears to my eyes: a televised interview where one of the students, initially overwhelmed and outnumbered, found the courage to speak out and reclaim his voice. It was a clear turning point, and you could feel the shift in confidence and power.

Another standout was the story of a cheerleader who used her organizational skills and energy to unify the protestors and give them one cohesive voice. The creativity and ingenuity on display-from strategy to execution-was as impressive as the outcome.

In conclusion, Deaf President Now is an outstanding documentary about triumph, unity, and the power of being heard, even without speaking. I would score it a 9/10 and strongly recommend it.

This documentary is incredible !!! There were no iPhones back then, and yet they still found other ways to communicate. Even tho, I am deaf, I heard about this protest. I was not there and I was in my college in different state at the same time. This documentary showed much more activities than I thought. I was like "Wow". I wish I could be there at Gally to support them wholeheartedly. Good for them !!! So brave and I'm glad they stayed with the demands. They refused to give up. They made it without any violence. Congratulations to everyone involved. Very impressive !!! Truly !!! Also, I was impressed with all the videos and pictures they kept over the years. I'm sure there are more. I wish this documentary showed a bit more of those activities and interviews. I'm very satisfied with this documentary. It's the best documentary I ever watched. Maybe Part two in the future ?

It was revealing to get behind the scenes of the week-long protest to change the ingrained practice of appointing people capable of hearing yet not capable of understanding or communicating with the deaf student body and teachers they were supposed to be serving. I moved to the DC Metro in February of 1988, and this reminded of all of the talk about Gallaudet University. I hadn't heard of a school for the deaf before I moved here. I recall all of the changes that occurred to make communities more accessible when the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, largely due to this event and the relentless passion of the students. I didn't know that that Gallaudet was a major catalyst that enabled the actualization of that law. An inspirational documentary. I will be watching it again and recommending it to loved ones and friends.