“Deaf people are not ready to function in a hearing world,” an interpreter signs to a mob of angry students. Jane Bassett Spilman, the former Chair of Gallaudet University’s Board of Trustees, denies saying this on the night in 1988 that a hearing person was appointed as the new president of Gallaudet, whose student body is almost entirely Deaf and hard-of-hearing. Nonetheless, it acted as the tipping point for a revolution. Deaf President Now! is a first-person account of the historical protests of the same name from the students-turned-organizers who came into their own and helped change the way the world saw the Deaf community, in turn advancing the disability rights movement. Co-directors Nyle DiMarco (executive producer, Audible, Hot Docs 2021) and Davis Guggenheim (director, STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie, Hot Docs 2023) deliver multisensory filmmaking that brings a unique and immersive experience to a history that bears repeating. Before “Nothing about us without us!” came “Deaf President Now!" Elspeth Arbow.
Hot Docs Members and ticket package holders can obtain single tickets in an advance window from March 25-31. Single tickets are on sale to the public starting April 1.
Distributor: Apple TV+