Arts Unplugged: Deaf President Now!

A black-and-white photograph shows a group of young people marching in a public demonstration. A large handmade sign behind them reads “The Board Buster.”

The College of Arts & Sciences will present two free films at Cornell Cinema on Thursday, November 5, as part of a three-day event: "Language, memory, future: Celebrating 250 years of language in our region.”

Screenings will take place at 4:30pm and 7:30pm. The program will feature:

Deaf President Now! (2025, dir. Nyle DiMarco & Davis Guggenheim) at 4:30 p.m., followed by,
Fancy Dance (2023, dir. Erica Tremblay), which centers on a woman on the Seneca-Cayuga reservation searching for her missing sister, whom her niece is desperate to find before her first powwow, at 7:30 p.m.

Deaf President Now! 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.

Free and open to all! Sponsored by College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series.

The Arts Unplugged event will also include a Nov. 6 keynote address by Daniel Kaufman, director of the Endangered Language Alliance and associate professor at Queens College, and an evening of performances, as well as an academic conference Nov. 7.

The College of Arts & Sciences’ Arts Unplugged series brings research and creative works into the public sphere for discussion and inspiration. These engaging events invite a broad audience to explore the work of scholars, faculty and creative luminaries across disciplines in arts and sciences to celebrate the impact that work continues to have on humanity.

In English and American Sign Language with English subtitles. Part of our "Campus Collaborations" series. Courtesy of Apple TV+.