Siân Heder’s next film after “CODA” is “Being Heumann,” a drama about disability rights activist Judy Heumann and the campaign to put Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 into practice. Apple plans to release the film in select theaters on November 6 and on Apple TV on November 13.
Starring British actor Ruth Madeley as Heumann, the film follows the activist as she leads disabled people in protests, including a month-long sit-in at San Francisco’s Federal Building. Heder co-wrote the screenplay with Rebekah Taussig, drawing on Heumann’s autobiography.
Heder said she had been drawn to Heumann’s story before “CODA” won Best Picture. She first encountered the activist through the documentary “Crip Camp” and began working on the project years before Heumann died in March 2023. Heder said that experience left her feeling responsible for telling the story and honoring Heumann’s legacy.
The director said she wanted to avoid making a conventional biopic or a film that felt like an educational obligation. Instead, she pitched the project as a fast-moving, humorous story, and described it as “Dog Day Afternoon” with disabled people. The cast includes disabled performers, many of them newcomers, alongside Mark Ruffalo as Joseph Califano, the federal official responsible for signing regulations that would enforce Section 504.
Heder said the project was a challenging prospect: it was a period film, required a large ensemble of performers and had a more substantial budget than a typical independent movie. She also described the practical work of making a production accessible across a range of disabilities, including adapting scripts and planning communication for deaf and blind performers.
For the central role, Heder sought an actor who could convey more than Heumann’s wheelchair use, including her humor, directness and drive. She said Madeley brought the intelligence, wit and vulnerability she was looking for. The film also presents Heumann as a forceful leader who had to learn to trust and include others, rather than treating her as an unchanging icon.
Heder said she saw the film as an opportunity to use the attention and industry support that followed “CODA” to tell a story she believed might otherwise have been difficult to finance. She wanted the result to be entertaining while showing how Heumann helped disabled people challenge exclusion and demand equal rights.
Sources: IndieWire.