Deaf President Now!

It’s a stealthy formal triumph that refines existing cinematic language and adds brand new words and phrases to the vocabulary, as it were, because that’s what was needed to do justice to its subject matter.

An extraordinary portrait of one pivotal week in the history of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C.

Among its virtues, the film also captures the enormous affection for Gallaudet that its students held, and still do, and the sense of belonging it offered to those who had grown up in a world of much sound and less sympathy.

No two signs look exactly the same. Such is one memorable lesson from the slick but powerful documentary Deaf President Now!

It’s not just a story about a moment in history: It’s also about the ways the movement for deaf education led to the broader disability rights arguments, and how everyone’s rights depend on everyone else’s.

It is sad that almost 40 years later a film like this isn’t seen as just an interesting piece of history.

Inspirational without turning heavy-handed, this galvanizing documentary offers a valuable civil-rights history lesson along with the power to change moviegoer perspectives regarding disabilities.

Deaf President Now! is never redundant and always urgent. It'll surely make your heart explode in happiness. 

Deaf President Now! isn’t just the story of this single moment. It uses the events of that one week at Gallaudet as a window into the deaf world.

Adding to the out loud praise. The Sound Design in this is vital, and part of the character of the piece, and proves that documentaries ... even talking head ones like this ... can be compelling, exciting and historical. What we hear is in our own head!