Being Heumann makers say accessible set matched the film
Producer Kevin Walsh says the team behind Being Heumann is as proud of how the film was made as the film itself.
Speaking at Deadline’s Contenders London Q&A, Walsh said he and director Siân Heder “created history” with the accessible environment built on set, according to Deadline.
Being Heumann is an Apple Original Films title directed by Heder. It tells the true story of disability-rights advocate Judy Heumann, played by Ruth Madeley, Deadline reported.
The film is based on Heumann’s memoir. It centres on 1977, when Heumann led more than 100 disabled people to take over the San Francisco Federal Building.
They stayed for 28 days. That sit-in has been described as the longest occupation of a federal building in United States history.
The protesters refused to leave until the government enforced Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the American law that required spaces receiving federal money to become accessible.
Ten disabled actors led the cast. Walsh said that required detailed work across the whole production.
The crew built ramps to work with trailers. Hair and make-up trailers were retrofitted so disabled actors could use them. Walsh credited Apple with backing the effort, according to Deadline.
Heder said she first heard Heumann’s story from a friend who had worked as accessibility coordinator for Crip Camp at Sundance. She pointed to her time on CODA, which brought her into the deaf community, as part of what drew her to another story rooted in disability community life.
Heder is credited as writer, director and producer on Being Heumann. She previously brought CODA, her 2021 Oscar winner, to Contenders before returning with this film, according to Deadline.
Being Heumann opened this year’s Toronto International Film Festival as the opening-night film. It then played as a headline gala at the London Film Festival.
It is set for select theatres on 6 November, followed by Apple TV on 13 November, Deadline reported. The runtime is listed at 2 hours 7 minutes.
