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  • 5/14/2025
Deaf President Now Movie Trailer HD - Plot synopsis: From Academy Award-nominated producer, co-director and Deaf activist Nyle DiMarco, and Academy Award-winning producer and co-director Davis Guggenheim, “Deaf President Now!” recounts the eight days of historic protests held at Gallaudet University in 1988 after the school’s board of trustees appointed a hearing president over several very qualified Deaf candidates. After a week of rallies, boycotts and protests, the students of Gallaudet University triumph as the hearing president resigns and beloved dean Dr. I. King Jordan becomes the university’s first Deaf president. The protests marked a pivotal moment in civil rights history, with an impact that extended well beyond the Gallaudet campus, 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 DPN4 — Jerry Covell, Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, Tim Rarus and Greg Hlibok — alongside I. King 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.
Transcript
00:00There's a firestorm this evening at Gallaudet University.
00:09The world's only deaf university.
00:13The time was now to light a match.
00:18The school's board of trustees bypassed two deaf candidates for the school's presidency
00:23in favor of a woman who can hear.
00:26We wanted to scream out.
00:30But how do you scream out in our language?
00:36We knew we would have to have a plan.
00:38Together we're united.
00:40We pull all the fire alarms.
00:44And everyone would know to go outside.
00:47The lights started flickering and I could feel the vibration.
00:53We locked all the gates.
00:55And students blocked any entrance to the campus.
00:58My grandfather called me and he said,
01:01Oh, Lord.
01:06I caught it too decent, please.
01:09You'll be on the rest.
01:10We're from a sidewalk, sir.
01:12We give up our soul in order to get a deaf president.
01:15It wasn't just about getting a deaf president.
01:20It was more than that.
01:24We couldn't accept a leader who didn't understand our world.
01:29She said deaf people are not ready to function in a hearing world.
01:34You heard it right.
01:34I did not say that.
01:38This is not just a protest.
01:40It's a revolution.
01:50We hear all the time,
01:52you can't, you can't.
01:53No, not this time.
02:01Deaf can.

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