Being Heumann Turns Protest Into a Revolution
Ruth Madeley leads Siân Heder’s powerful true-story drama about Judy Heumann and the disability rights activists who occupied a federal building and refused to leave.
When officials refused to listen to Judy Heumann and other disability rights activists, they stopped asking politely.
Being Heumann stars Ruth Madeley as the pioneering activist during the historic 1977 campaign to force the U.S. government to enforce Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act — landmark protections intended to prohibit disability discrimination in federally funded programmes.
The new Apple TV trailer follows Heumann and more than 100 protesters as they occupy the federal Health, Education and Welfare offices in San Francisco. What begins as a protest turns into a 26-day sit-in, with the activists organising food, medical care, communications and political pressure while refusing to leave until the government acts.
Mark Ruffalo plays Health, Education and Welfare Secretary Joseph Califano, whose refusal to sign the regulations puts him directly opposite the movement. Dylan O’Brien stars as Evan White, while Madeline Delp plays fellow activist Kitty Cone. Roberta Colindrez, Ray Fisher, Daniel Durant and Michael Patrick Thornton are also part of the large ensemble.
Being Heumann is directed by CODA filmmaker Siân Heder, who co-wrote the screenplay with Rebekah Taussig. The drama draws on the life and memoir of Heumann, one of the defining figures of the disability rights movement.
Following premieres at Toronto and the BFI London Film Festival, Being Heumann opens in select cinemas on November 6 before streaming globally on Apple TV from November 13.
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