Let’s be real: some revolutions were not televised — but they should have been. Apple TV+’s trailer for Deaf President Now!, a documentary about the groundbreaking 1988 student protest at Gallaudet University, just dropped, and let me tell you — it snaps, it signs, and it serves. And yes, it will absolutely have you ugly-crying in seconds.
If you’ve never heard of the Deaf President Now movement, let’s change that. Picture this: students at the world’s only university for Deaf and hard of hearing students, rising up because — get this — a hearing person was appointed president. Again. The students said, “Nope, not today,” and demanded that their voices — or their hands — finally be the ones in charge. It’s the kind of civil rights movement that echoes (pun intended) across generations and identities.
And for the LGBTQ+ fam? Oh honey, this hits home.
There’s something undeniably queer about the story: the demand to be seen, to be heard, to be represented — not later, not in theory, but now. The intersection of disability rights and queer liberation isn’t just academic; it’s deeply personal. We’ve been marching with signs and sass for decades, too. Watching these students sign their demands with fire in their eyes and poetry in their movements? That’s protest as performance art, darling.
And leading this visual revolution? Alongside Davis Guggenheim, it’s none other than Nyle DiMarco, the Deaf, queer model, activist, and America’s Next Top Model and Dancing with the Stars champion who’s making his directorial debut. Yes, that Nyle — the one who’s been breaking barriers and hearts with equal grace. His fingerprints are all over this project, and it shows.
DiMarco isn’t just a name in the credits — he’s a cultural force who knows how to center Deaf excellence without compromise. His commitment to authentic storytelling, visual innovation, and radical accessibility makes this doc feel as revolutionary in form as it is in content. Combining poetic visuals and textured sound design to immerse us in the Deaf experience? Only Nyle could make that feel like both cinema and ceremony.
But the best part? The trailer doesn’t spoon-feed. It invites. It hands you the mic (or the camera, or the spotlight) and says, “What movements are you showing up for?” It’s not just Deaf history; it’s a call to action across all our beautiful identities.
So yes, we’ll be watching when Deaf President Now! drops. We’ll be signing, cheering, sobbing, texting our group chats, and maybe even breaking out the glitter if the moment calls for it. Because representation isn’t a favor. It’s a right. And when one community wins, we all raise the roof — metaphorically and literally.