'America's Next Top Model' Champ Nyle DiMarco Produces, Co-Directs Documentary 'Deaf President Now!'

Nyle DiMarco, the sexually fluid, Deaf winner of Season 22 of "America's Next Top Model" and also the winner of Season 22 of "Dancing with the Stars," is a driving force behind a new documentary looking at the student protests that prompted the hiring of a Deaf university president at Gallaudet University, of which DiMarco is an alumnus.

In addition to his reality show and acting chops, his success as a memoirist, and his accomplishments as an advocate for the Deaf community, DiMarco has proven his calibre in the film world, being an executive producer for the Oscar-nominated Netflix short doc "Audible" – a film that won the Critics Choice Real TV Award.

The new doc has been acquired by Apple Films, The Hollywood Reporter detailed.

"The feature tells the story of the 1988 protests at Gallaudet University, the storied university for Deaf or Hard of Hearing students, that led to the installment of the school's first Deaf president, Dr. I. King Jordan," THR explained.

"Back in 1988, Gallaudet was in the process of selecting a new president, and students were excited about a number of Deaf candidates, with the possibility that someone like them could be leading the institution for the first time," Queerty said, before noting that when the hearing members of the university's board settled on the one and only prospect who was not Deaf, the students mounted a successful protest, let by the "Gallaudent Four" – Bridgetta Bourne-Firl, Jerry Covell, Greg Hlibok, and Tim Rarus.

The students' "activism is seen as a landmark moment in civil rights history," Queerty noted, "and one that paved the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but it's a story few know about."

In addition to interviewing Jordan and the leaders of the student protest, the film "us[es] impressionistic visual photography and intricate sound design that is meant to thrust the audience into the Deaf experience," THR relayed.

DiMarco stated in a release that "For far too long, the disabilities stories that have shaped the United States have been conspicuously absent from the history we tell."

He added: "This film not only preserves a pivotal moment in civil rights history but also celebrates the resilience of my Deaf community, whose triumphs deserve to be recognized, celebrated and remembered."

Reports noted that the film draws on the talents of the Deaf community, with "over 40 Deaf or Hard of Hearing" working on or appearing in the film. In addition to being picked up by Apple Films – which saw its 2021 film "CODA" win three Oscars, including Best Picture – "Deaf President Now!" is slated for inclusion in the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, according to Queerty.