Apple has revealed release dates for Being Heumann, the next film from CODA writer and director Siân Heder. The biographical drama will arrive in select theaters on November 6, 2026, followed by its Apple TV streaming release on November 13.
Being Heumann tells Judy Heumann’s story
Based on Judy Heumann’s memoir, Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, the film follows her fight for equal rights and accessibility in the United States.
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The story focuses on the historic 1977 Section 504 sit-in, when Heumann and more than 100 disability rights protesters occupied a federal building. Their protest pushed the government to enforce protections against disability discrimination.
Ruth Madeley plays Heumann, while Mark Ruffalo appears as US government official Joseph Califano Jr. The supporting cast includes Dylan O’Brien, Rob Delaney, Ray Fisher, Daniel Durant, Jon Beavers and Roberta Colindrez.
CODA director returns to Apple TV
Heder previously wrote and directed CODA on Apple TV, which won Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 2022 Academy Awards. Its Best Picture victory made Apple the first streaming service to win the Oscars’ highest film award.
According to Entertainment Weekly’s first look, Heder wanted to show the activists as complex people with humour, relationships and different personalities, rather than presenting the movement through a conventional biographical format.
Before its theatrical and streaming releases, Being Heumann will open the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10. The festival runs through September 20.
With its awards-season release plan, major cast and socially important story, Being Heumann is likely to become one of Apple TV’s most closely watched original films of 2026.
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