A feature film about an activist known as the “mother of the disability rights movement” is set to debut.
“Being Heumann” will premiere as the opening night film at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival.
The movie from Apple Original Films is about Judy Heumann who was instrumental in fighting for civil rights protections for people with disabilities. It is based on Heumann’s book “Being Heumann,” which tells of her experience leading more than a hundred people with disabilities in a 1977 sit-in at the San Francisco Federal Building. The action lasted nearly a month and pressured the government to enforce Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, a law requiring federal spaces to be accessible.
Advertisement – Continue Reading Below
Heumann, who died in 2023, was left unable to walk after she contracted polio at age 2. Her parents were told to institutionalize her, but instead fought to enroll her in school. As an adult, Heumann was denied a teaching license from the New York Board of Education because they worried she would not be able to evacuate in an emergency, but she ultimately became the state’s first teacher in a wheelchair.
Heumann was instrumental in developing and ensuring implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act and the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in addition to her activism related to Section 504.
The movie about Heumann was adapted, directed and produced by Academy Award-winner Siân Heder who wrote and directed “CODA,” the first film with a predominately deaf cast to win an Oscar for Best Picture.
“Being Heumann” stars Ruth Madeley, who has spina bifida, as Heumann alongside Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O’Brien, Rob Delaney, Daniel Durant, Madeline Delp and Ray Fisher.
“We’re thrilled to open this year’s festival with Siân Heder’s inspiring follow-up to her Oscar-winning ‘CODA,’” said Cameron Bailey, CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival. “‘Being Heumann’ features an electric performance from Ruth Madeley in the story of Judy Heumann, a world-changing advocate for accessibility.”
“Being Heumann” will premiere Sept. 10 at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.
