Apple TV+ Sets Streaming Premiere Date for Davis Guggenheim’s DEAF PRESIDENT NOW!

Courtesy Apple Studios

Apple Studios has set a streaming premiere date for their acclaimed documentary DEAF PRESIDENT NOW!, which will launch on their Apple TV+ platform on May 16th, 2025. The film world premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and is currently playing at SXSW.

Deaf President Now! is directed by Davis Guggenheim, who previously collaborated with Apple on the Emmy-winning 2023 documentary Still: A Michael J Fox Movie.

The film 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 Gallaudet Four — 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.

We’ve added the release date to our streaming calendar.