How Apple's 'Being Heumann' Is Changing Hollywood Representation
Summary
Apple’s film Being Heumann follows disability rights activist Judith Heumann and the 1977 Section 504 sit-in in San Francisco. Director Siân Heder and actor Ruth Madeley say the film brings disability stories to a wide audience and highlights the need for more disabled actors in leading Hollywood roles.Key Facts
- Ruth Madeley plays Judith Heumann, a prominent disability rights activist.
- The film focuses on the 1977 Section 504 sit-in at a federal office in San Francisco.
- Activists occupied the building for nearly a month to protest delays in implementing federal protections against disability discrimination.
- The article describes the sit-in as a key event that helped pave the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act, passed in 1990.
- Siân Heder directed the film and previously directed CODA.
- Mark Ruffalo plays Joseph A. Califano Jr., who was secretary of Health, Education and Welfare and initially opposed the Section 504 regulations.
- Madeley, who has spina bifida, said leading a major Hollywood film as a disabled actor fulfilled a lifelong goal.
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