In this article, the author outlines how a documentary film about the history of deafness in the United States, inspired by the exhibition "History through Deaf Eyes," is going to be created. "History through Deaf Eyes" will have a dual focus. Part of its subject is deafness from the inside: the personal experiences of deaf people (and hearing people with deaf children or parents). The film will take its viewers into the homes and lives of deaf people to show what is different--and what is just the same--in the Deaf world. However, the center of the film will be the larger picture: the history of Deaf culture as a whole--how a community came into being and what that circle has meant to its members for nearly two centuries. It is a history that has all of the elements of a classic American saga. It's dramatic arc and main plot points--the long rise from near nonexistence, the sudden fall and resulting crisis, then the final triumph, with a new threat looming at the end--are described. One important element of the film will be several short personal video journals made by Deaf filmmakers and multimedia artists; they will be different in style, content, feel, and music from the rest of the film. They aren't all explicitly about deaf history, but they are about deaf lives.