Being Heumann

Being Heumann
Promotional poster
Directed by	Sian Heder
Screenplay by	Sian Heder Rebekah Taussig
Based on	Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist by Judith Heumann
Produced by	Kevin J. Walsh David Permut Sian Heder John W. Beach Kevin Cleary
Starring	Ruth Madeley Mark Ruffalo Dylan O'Brien Rob Delaney Ray Fisher
Cinematography	Jamie D. Ramsay
Edited by	Geraud Brisson
Music by	Francesco Le Metre
Production companies	Apple Studios The Walsh Company Gravity Squared Entertainment Permut Presentations Paper People Films
Distributed by	Apple TV
Release dates	September 10, 2026 (2026-09-10) (TIFF) November 6, 2026 (2026-11-06) (United States) November 13, 2026 (2026-11-13) (Apple TV)
Running time	127 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Being Heumann is a 2026 American biographical drama film directed by Sian Heder, starring Ruth Madeley as disability rights activist Judith Heumann, and Mark Ruffalo as United States Secretary of Health and Human Services Joseph A. Califano Jr., who opposed the movement, led by Heumann, for the first U.S. federal civil rights protection for people with disabilities. The film is an adaptation of Heumann's memoir Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist.

The film had its world premiere as the opening film of the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2026, and is set to be released theatrically by Apple Studios on November 6, 2026. It received positive reviews from critics.

Plot

During the start of Jimmy Carter's presidential term in 1977, Judith Heumann is a disability rights activist, wheelchair user, and polio survivor protesting against the delayed signing of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, a legislation that would grant certain rights that Heumann was refused, into law. The Rehabilitation Act was originally signed by Richard Nixon four years earlier, but concerns about costs had kept Section 504 in limbo. Heumann's tactics include blocking traffic and lobbying the offices of Congressman George Miller and HEW Secretary Joseph A. Califano Jr. by phone. When these tactics fail, Heumann and other disabled protestors start a sit-in at the regional HEW offices in San Francisco, refusing to leave the building until Section 504 was signed by Califano. After a few days, the building's phone lines and food supply are cut off, so Heumann decides to go on a hunger strike inspired by Gandhi. The phone lines are eventually restored, and Heumann is notified of Califano's plans to meet the protesters in person, only to be met with his staff. During this meeting, Heumann and the protestors testify about the reasons for their protest. When the building is evacuated due to a bomb threat, Heumann still refuses to leave. As a result, Heumann gets into an argument with her co-organizer, Kitty Cone, over their handling of the situation. Eventually, Hale Zukas, another protester with cerebral palsy, convinces some of the protesters, including Heumann, to fly to Washington, D.C. and confront Califano directly. They attempt to wake Califano up by driving to his house in a Hertz rental truck, but Califano drives off, so the protesters resort to an attempted breach of a press conference he was attending. They are to be arrested for trespassing, but this is quickly proven impossible due to the lack of accessible jail cells. After nearly four weeks of the sit-in, Heumann is watching television when she sees the televised news of Califano signing Section 504 into law. She calls Cone about the protestors' victory, and Cone leads the protestors out of the building in celebration. Later, Califano calls Heumann and admits that he was reluctant to sign Section 504 because he didn't want to get fired for too much government spending. Thirteen years later, protestors in Washington, D.C. lobby for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to be signed, thus expanding Section 504's regulations into every public building in the United States.

Cast

• Ruth Madeley as Judith Heumann, a disability rights activist
• Mark Ruffalo as Joseph A. Califano Jr., the United States Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare
• Dylan O'Brien as Evan White, a reporter who embeds himself with Heumann and the other disability rights activists during their protests
• Madeline Delp as Kitty Cone, a disability rights activist who challenges Heumann's approach
• Rob Delaney as Congressman George Miller
• Ray Fisher as Chuck Jackson
• Michael Patrick Thornton as Ed Roberts
• Antwan Tolliver as Brad Lomax, a Black Panther and disability rights advocate
• Daniel Durant as Steve McCleeland
• Jon Beavers as Jim Pechin, Heumann's love interest
• Roberta Colindrez as Joni Breves, Heumann's bestfriend and fellow activist who acts as her on-and-off caregiver
• Russell Harvard as Olin Fortney
• Charlie Rush-Reese as Dennis Billups
• Joe Cobden as Hamilton Jordan
• Andrew Pilkington as Hale Zukas, a disability rights activist with cerebral palsy
• Siena Rafter as Lynette Taylor, an ASL interpreter
• Matthew Jeffers as Gerald
• Rein Barcel as Cece
• D'Arcee Charington Neal as Ron Washington
• Will Brill as Gene Eidenberg
• Rio Finnegan as Milton

Production

The film is directed by Sian Heder, who – with Rebekah Taussig – adapted the Judy Heumann memoir, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist. The film is from Apple Studios and is produced by David Permut and Kevin Walsh, whose Walsh Company has an overall deal with Apple. Heumann's managers, John W. Beach and Kevin Cleary of Gravity Squared Entertainment, are also producers.

In May 2025, Ruth Madeley was cast to play Heumann. Mark Ruffalo and Dylan O'Brien were added to the cast the following month. In July 2025, Madeline Delp, Rob Delaney, Ray Fisher, Michael Patrick Thornton, Antwan Tolliver, Daniel Durant, Jon Beavers, Roberta Colindrez, and Russell Harvard joined the cast.

Principal photography took place in Toronto in mid-2025.

Release

In July 2026, Being Heumann was announced as the opening film of the Toronto International Film Festival. It will also screen at the 15th Montclair Film Festival on October 17. It is scheduled to be released in select theaters on November 6, 2026, and will be released on Apple TV on November 13.

Reception

References

External links

• Being Heumann at IMDb