Extended Trailer for Being Heumann Released by Apple

Apple Original Films have released their first extended trailer for Being Heumann, the latest film from Siân Heder (CODA). It received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

The film is based on the memoir by disability-rights advocate Judy Heumann, played by Ruth Madeley. It focuses on 1977, when Heumann led more than 100 disabled people to take over the San Francisco Federal Building. It led to a 28-day sit-in, which is the longest occupation of a federal building in U.S. history. The protesters soon form a tightly bound community, refusing to leave until the government enforces Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which required all federal spaces to become accessible. The movie also features an intimate encounter between Heumann and a non-disabled partner that Madeley and Heder believe may be among the first of its kind played by a disabled actor. 

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The film also features Mark Ruffalo as the bureaucrat who gets in their way, as well as Dylan O’Brien, Jon Beavers, Rob Delaney and Ray Fisher. Ahead of the film opening at the Toronto International Film Festival, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey praised the film as Heder’s “inspiring follow-up” to CODA, highlighting Madeley’s “electric performance” portraying a “world-changing advocate for accessibility”.

Madeley is getting a lot of Oscar buzz for her performance, with Variety recently naming her as one of 10 Actors to Watch. She told the outlet, “Me and my imposter syndrome walk hand in hand into every room,” she says. “We’re a pair.” She stayed in an American accent for the entire shoot, to the point that much of the crew assumed she was American. She also endured a period wheelchair “from the ’70s, so not designed for comfort.” She saw herself in Heumann’s “unwavering defiance,” and insisted on the vulnerabilities too. “She wasn’t perfect.”

It will open in select cinemas on November 6th, before dropping on Apple TV on the 13th November.

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Danny Humby

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Danny is a freelance Entertainment Journalist with a background spanning marketing, journalism and governance. He is currently a Trustee at Chichester Festival Theatre. He can be found under @popcornandpace on Instagram.

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