Deaf President Now! – inside a collaboration

Nyle DiMarco teams with Davis Guggenheim to tell an overlooked story of civil rights

Deaf President Now! tells one of the most inspiring instances of collective action you’ve probably never heard of. The film recounts the eight days of historic protests held at Gallaudet University – the world’s only liberal arts college for Deaf people – after the school’s board of trustees appointed a hearing president over several highly qualified Deaf candidates. 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).

Prepared to be educated, incensed and – if you’re a hearing person – reminded of the ways you take your own way of experiencing the world for granted. First-time director Nyle DiMarco (who is Deaf) and veteran co-director Davis Guggenheim (who is hearing) immerse their audience in an historic eight-day (and generations old) battle between two worlds, Deaf and hearing, using bold interviews with the movement’s student leaders, cinematic recreations and an experimental soundscape (devised together with editor Michael Harte and academy award-winning sound designer Nina Hartstone) where silence plays the most dramatic role I’ve witnessed in a doc.

“I want people to watch the film and feel inspired again, to feel that change is possible and to remind them that through standing up and protesting, it is possible to see success, but the key to that success is collective action. Right now there are a lot of people who have lost the motivation to protest, they've lost the motivation to speak out against what's happening. The truth is, that's exactly what we need right now.” – Nyle DiMarco

Nyle DiMarco and David Guggenheim at their 2025 Sundance premiere

“When you get older, you get comfortable. You get comfortable with being comfortable. What was hard and also special about this movie is that I was uncomfortable. I was in a world that I didn't understand very well. Nyle was my tour guide and that uncomfortability provided all this rich opportunity.” – Davis Guggenheim

I spoke to the pair about the challenges and rewards of collaboration, the importance of an inclusive set and why the film’s release on Apple TV+ on Friday, May 16 – six years after its inception – is so timely. Read our interview below.

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Bella: Nyle, this is your first time directing, after producing Deaf U and Audible, tell me about your background and how you came to this project

Nyle: I'm an actor myself and about six years ago, I actually approached producer Jonathan King with a pitch [to tell this story,] because this is such an important civil rights movement, but it seems no one out there is really aware of it.

He was on board from day one to move forward with a scripted project. We hired two writers, one was Deaf, one was hearing and we began working on a script for a feature. But the first draft, we weren't really satisfied with and the more we went through revisions, the more we realized that the format of a scripted project didn’t really lend itself to the complexities and the nuance of what Deaf President Now! actually represents. It was a very layered protest. It was about so much more than just appointing a Deaf president. It involved years of discrimination, oppression and generational trauma. Upon that realization, I met with Davis Guggenheim and after reading the script, he immediately said, “This needs to be a documentary,” and I thought, brilliant.

Bella: Davis, tell me what drew you to this project.

Davis: The only thing I care about when I start a movie is, is the story good? There are some issues that I really feel very strongly about, but if the story elements aren't there then I don't know how to make that movie. Here, the story elements were so strong. Then meeting Nyle, I could see that this is his baby. His passion was so strong and visceral. Coming to understand that this is such a fundamental story in Deaf culture, but one almost completely forgotten in the hearing culture. I realized this story has to be told.