A little known protest that helped pave the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act is the subject of a documentary that’s set to be released.

“Deaf President Now!” tells the story of eight days of action in 1988 at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. — the world’s only university specifically designed for deaf and hard of hearing students — after the school’s board overlooked two well-qualified deaf candidates and selected a hearing president instead.

A week of rallies, boycotts and protests led the hearing president to resign and Dr. I. King Jordan was named the university’s first deaf president.

“The story of Deaf President Now! isn’t just Deaf history — it is American history,” said Nyle DiMarco, a director and producer of the film who is deaf and is known for appearing on “America’s Next Top Model,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “Queer as Folk,” “Station 19,” “Switched at Birth” and more. “A civil rights movement led by students and their victory helped the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. And yet, most people don’t even know it happened. We made this film to change that and to make sure this story will not be erased from history. I hope it inspires people to see Deaf people not as something to fix, but as something to celebrate, value and fight for.”

The film includes interviews with four students who led the protest movement as well as Jordan, Gallaudet’s first deaf president. It features an approach called Deaf Point of View, which involves impressionistic visual photography and intricate sound design to engage the audience in the deaf perspective.

The documentary premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and was named the festival favorite at the South by Southwest Film & TV Festival.

“Deaf President Now!” will be available to stream on AppleTV+ beginning May 16.