Teaching Tools

 
From our 2025 Schools at Festival program: Deaf President Now!—For eight days in March 1988, students of Washington D.C.’s Gallaudet University protested the appointment of a hearing president. Demanding truly representative leadership, the students broke the cycle of pity and condescension that defined their experience at the world’s first university for deaf and hard of hearing students. Actor Nyle DiMarco, a Gallaudet graduate, makes his directorial debut with this documentary that memorializes a watershed moment not only in American disability rights activism but also in the history of US student movements. Key players in the protest lead the audience through the events of those heady days and relate how they overcame sexism, ableism, and paternalism to ensure an equitable future for the generations of Gallaudet students that followed. Narrated through American Sign Language and voiceovers, Deaf President Now! relates the involving story of an under-reported triumph.

 
From our 2025 Schools at Festival program: See Her Be Her—In this exhilarating documentary by world-renowned sports photographer Jean Fruth, we follow seven incredible women baseball teams from around the globe — Canada, Cuba, Puerto Rico, South Korea, Uganda, Japan, and the USA as they train and compete for the Women’s Baseball World Cup Title. From USA pitcher Kelsie Whitmore, the only North American woman playing in an all-male professional league, to Japan’s Ayami Sato, one of the best female baseball players and pitchers in history, we are invited to witness boundaries pushed and stereotypes shattered. This timely film shows these players and teams standing up against gender inequality in sports and fighting to win the gold medal, all while trailblazing for the future generation of female athletes across the world.

 
From our 2025 Schools at Festival program: Meet Souleymane, an undocumented Guinean immigrant in France striving to build a new life and apply for asylum. To earn money, Souleymane rents a verified Uber Eats account from another employee, a frequent option for new arrivals. Weaving through the streets of Paris, Souleymane’s history unfolds in waves, its details revealed between the crushing countdown of the delivery clock, unpredictable weather, and frustrated customers. Despite his circumstances, Souleymane’s innate kindness shines through as he finds moments of levity and connection with his sheltermates, street vendors, and fellow delivery drivers. Boris Lojkine’s moody and propulsive film plays like a thriller, steadily laying out the mountain of obstacles Souleymane confronts as h desperately strives to make the right choices. The film is a stunning digest of a life lived in the shadows with a revelatory central performance from first-time, non-professional actor Abou Sangare (winner of Un Certain Regard Best Actor at Cannes).

 
From our 2024 Schools at Doc Stories program: Ron Howard’s documentary Jim Henson Idea Man is a radically honest and inspiring documentary about the world- renowned puppeteer Jim Henson. Through intimate conversations with his family and the people he worked most closely with, the film ollows the journey of his life from childhood to death and all his successes and mistakes along the way. The film ouches upon the career-building of a puppeteer, his revolutionary work, and the unique impact he had on culture and media. A screening of this film will complement a curriculum in English Language Arts, Media Arts, and other subjects diving deep into the Jim Henson universe.

 
From our 2024 Schools at Doc Stories program: If I Could Stay / Si Pudiera Quedarme is a heart-wrenching and inspiring story of two undocumented Latinx mothers, Jeanette and Ingrid, who courageously enter local churches to evade deportation and protect their families. Over five years, they must face the constant threat of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids while fighting for their legal status and inspiring allies in the predominantly white faith communities. Through an intimate and raw lens, the film showcases the unwavering strength, love, and sacrifice of these mothers, who risk everything to keep their families together in the country they call home. If I Could Stay / Si Pudiera Quedarme is a call to action and a powerful reminder that providing Sanctuary is not just an act of charity, but a crucial act of social justice.