Feature-length film hails from Deaf U and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie creatives
Apple has ordered a documentary about the historic 1988 protests at Deaf and hard of hearing institution Gallaudet University.
Deaf President Now! is a a feature-length documentary film coming from creatives behind Deaf U and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie.
Producer, director and fourth generation Deaf advocate Nyle DiMarco (Deaf U, Audible) and Academy Award winner Davis Guggenheim (Still, An Inconvenient Truth) will co-helm the doc which DiMarco said “preserves a pivotal moment in civil rights history”.
The film recounts the eight days of protests at Gallaudet after the university’s board of trustees appointed a hearing president, Elizabeth Zinser, over several qualified Deaf candidates, Irving King Jordan and Harvey Corson.
After a week of rallies, boycotts and protests, Gallaudet students succeeded in their campaign, with Zinser resigning and Dr. I. King Jordan – already the dean of Gallaudet’s College of Arts and Sciences – installed as the university’s first Deaf president.
The protests, which included effigy burning, barricades and the shutting down of the campus, marked a pivotal moment in civil rights history, with an impact that extended beyond Gallaudet, and paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Deaf President Now! features exclusive interviews with the five key figures of the movement, including the Gallaudet Four – Jerry Covell, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, Tim Rarus and Greg Hlibok – alongside Jordan, as well as archival and scripted elements.
The film also incorporates an experimental narrative approach called Deaf Point Of View, using impressionistic visual photography and intricate sound design to thrust the audience into the Deaf experience.
“For far too long, the disabilities stories that have shaped the United States have been conspicuously absent from the history we tell,” said co-director and producer DiMarco.
“This film celebrates the resilience of my Deaf community, whose triumphs deserve to be recognized, celebrated and remembered.”
Guggenheim said: “It was shocking to me that most people, including myself, had never heard of this moment in Deaf history. 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.”
Crew diversity and Deaf authenticity
The production of the film placed accessibility, cultural and communication considerations at the centre of every stage, culminating with over 40 Deaf or hard of hearing subjects, cast, and crew contributing to the making of the film.
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 portrayal and interpretation of the predominant language of the film – American Sign Language (ASL) – was done with the utmost care in every frame by DiMarco.
The production team employed consultants Jonaz McMillan as well as Lindsey Dryden from FWD-Doc: Documentary Filmmakers With Disabilities to ensure the Deaf lens was conveyed accurately, inclusive hires were made, and resources for accessibility and communication needs were planned for.
Deaf President Now! is produced by Concordia Studio, with Guggenheim, DiMarco, Michael Harte (Beckham), Jonathan King (Spotlight) and Amanda Rohlke (Stormy) serving as producers.
Concordia and Apple previously collaborated on Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie. The producer is also behind eBay harassment doc Whatever It Takes, co-produced by Undeniable and Big Pond Films and is one of the producers on Storyville doc Eternal Y
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