Being Heumann tells the story of US disability rights activist Judy Heumann in a film directed and co-written by Sian Heder, based on Heumann’s 2020 memoir. British actor Ruth Madeley, who has spina bifida and is also a disability rights activist, plays Heumann. The film presents her as a sharp, determined campaigner and combines a heartfelt approach with a Hollywood-style treatment of events.
The story centres on Heumann’s campaign for Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, whose accessibility provisions faced resistance from successive administrations. In 1977, she led a sit-in at the San Francisco offices of Health, Education and Welfare. The protest brought together a broad coalition that included gay rights groups and the Black Panthers.
The film depicts Health Secretary Joseph Califano eventually signing the measure after years of opposition. Mark Ruffalo plays Califano, though the drama does not show that he had initially authorised efforts to starve the protesters out. Instead, the film focuses on the campaigners’ conviction that politeness and appeals to official sympathy would not be enough to win change.
It also shows disagreements among disabled and deaf activists over the movement’s priorities, and addresses disabled people’s sexuality with humour and directness. Madeline Delp plays Heumann’s fellow campaigner Kitty Cone, while Dylan O’Brien portrays television reporter Evan White, who joined the protest. Jon Beavers plays Heumann’s friend Jim Pechin; the film develops their relationship into a romance.
Sources: The Guardian Film.