Apple Original Films has released the trailer for “Being Heumann,” the new film from writer, director and producer Siân Heder about disability rights activist Judy Heumann. Apple says the film debuts in select theaters on Friday, November 6, 2026 and premieres globally on Apple TV on Friday, November 13, 2026.
Apple unveiled the trailer on October 12, 2026. Apple bills Heder as an Academy Award winner for “CODA,” the Apple Original that won Best Picture.
The true story behind the film
“Being Heumann” is based on true events. Apple says the film follows Judy Heumann as she “leads more than a hundred young people in a radical act of defiance” by taking over the San Francisco Federal building in a fight for equal rights.
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Apple’s own logline is short: “They wouldn’t take Judy Heumann’s phone calls, so she took their building.”
The story is set in 1977. Ruth Madeley plays the young disabled woman who, with “a scrappy coalition of outsiders,” decides she has had enough. In Apple’s words, “What begins as one impulsive act becomes the longest occupation of a federal building in American history.”
Mark Ruffalo plays the bureaucrat in their way. According to Apple, hundreds of protesters seize government offices and refuse to leave until he takes action.
Apple describes the film as “the revolutionary, irreverent and deeply human story of the least likely people trying to pull off the impossible and change the lives of millions.”
Release dates
The film gets one week in select theaters before it reaches Apple TV subscribers worldwide.
| Detail | What Apple says |
|---|---|
| Format | Feature film, Apple Original Films |
| Theaters | Select theaters, Friday, November 6, 2026 |
| Streaming | Globally on Apple TV, Friday, November 13, 2026 |
| Director | Siân Heder |
| Writers | Siân Heder and Rebekah Taussig |
| Stars | Ruth Madeley, Mark Ruffalo |
The trailer arrived just ahead of the film’s Gala presentation at the BFI London Film Festival. “Being Heumann” had already played as the opening night premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Cast and crew
Heder wrote the film with Rebekah Taussig, and also directs and produces. Other producers are David Permut for Permut Presentations, and John Beach, Kevin Cleary and Kevin Walsh for the Walsh Company.
Executive producers include Jim LeBrecht, Diana Pokorny, Ann Molin and Kristen Joiner. Joiner co-wrote Judy Heumann’s bestselling memoir, “Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist,” which shares its title with the film.
Beyond Madeley and Ruffalo, Apple lists a large supporting cast:
- Dylan O’Brien
- Madeline Delp
- Roberta Colindrez
- Jon Beavers
- Antwan Tolliver
- Ray Fisher
- Andrew Pilkington
- Michael Patrick Thornton
- Russell Harvard
- Daniel Durant
- Charlie Rush-Reese
- Rio Finnegan
- D’Arcee Charington Neal
- Will Brill
- Rob Delaney
- Matthew August Jeffers
- Siena Rafter
- Rein Barcel
The full credits are in Apple’s Being Heumann trailer announcement on Apple TV Press.
How to watch Being Heumann
After its theatrical run starts, the film streams on Apple TV, which Apple says costs $14.99 per month with a seven-day free trial for new subscribers. The service is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on Apple devices, many smart TVs, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, game consoles and tv.apple.com.
For a limited time, Apple says customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV 4K or Mac can get three months of Apple TV for free, one offer per Family Sharing group.
The streaming date matches the day the new Apple TV 4K becomes available, November 13.
