Being Heumann opens in select U.S. theaters on Friday, November 6, 2026, and begins streaming worldwide on Apple TV on Friday, November 13, 2026. To watch it at home you’ll need an Apple TV subscription, which costs $14.99 per month in the United States and comes with a seven-day free trial.
Directed by Oscar winner Siân Heder, the film dramatizes one of the most consequential — and least-told — chapters of the American civil rights era. Here’s exactly when, where, and how to watch it.
How to watch Being Heumann
- In theaters: Friday, November 6, 2026 (limited U.S. run)
- Streaming: Friday, November 13, 2026, on Apple TV
- Where: Apple TV, Apple’s subscription streaming service (the service previously branded Apple TV+)
- Price: $14.99/month in the U.S., or $119/year; new subscribers get a seven-day free trial, and buyers of a new Apple device can still claim three months free
- Format: Feature film
Apple typically makes new titles available at 12:00 a.m. PT (3:00 a.m. ET) on release day, so U.S. viewers can expect Being Heumann to appear in the app in the early hours of November 13. The theatrical run comes first, on November 6, for anyone who wants to see it on the big screen.
What Being Heumann is about
In the spring of 1977, a disabled young woman and a coalition of activists decided they were done waiting. What began as a protest became the longest occupation of a federal building in U.S. history: for nearly a month, demonstrators took over a government office in San Francisco and refused to leave until their rights were enforced. At the center of that standoff was Judy Heumann, who turned a scattered sit-in into a defining moment for the disability rights movement.
The film is based on Heumann’s memoir and follows the fight over Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 — the first federal law to bar discrimination on the basis of disability. The law had been on the books for years but was left unenforced because the government never issued the regulations to put it into effect. The 1977 sit-in forced officials to finally sign those rules, a victory that helped lay the groundwork for the Americans with Disabilities Act more than a decade later.
Heumann, who died in 2023, spent her life as one of the movement’s most recognizable leaders, and the movie treats the sit-in not as a dusty history lesson but as a tense, character-driven standoff — ordinary people holding their ground inside a federal building while the clock runs and the pressure mounts.
For U.S. viewers, the stakes are familiar even if the specifics aren’t. The protections that flowed from Section 504 shaped everything from curb cuts and accessible transit to the accommodations required in schools and workplaces today. The film’s argument is that those everyday rights weren’t simply granted — they were won, by people willing to camp out on a government floor for weeks to force the issue.
Cast and crew
Ruth Madeley stars as Judy Heumann, with Mark Ruffalo as Joseph Califano, the federal official standing between the protesters and their demands. Dylan O’Brien and Rob Delaney round out the ensemble.
Siân Heder — who won the Academy Award for Best Picture as writer-director of CODA — directs and co-wrote the screenplay with Rebekah Taussig. The movie premiered as the opening-night film of the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2026 and later closed out AFI Fest in Los Angeles, two high-profile launches that position it among Apple’s awards-season contenders.
Watch the trailer
Apple Original Films released the official trailer in October. Here’s a first look:
Why it’s worth your time
Disability history rarely gets the prestige-film treatment, and Being Heumann arrives with the pedigree to change that: a Best Picture-winning director, a cast led by Madeley (herself a disabled actor) and Ruffalo, and a true story with obvious resonance today. If you connected with the blend of activism and intimacy in CODA, this is the natural next watch.
Frequently asked
Where can I watch Being Heumann in the U.S.?
In select theaters starting November 6, 2026, and on Apple TV starting November 13, 2026.
Do I need a subscription?
Yes, to stream it. An Apple TV subscription is $14.99/month, though the seven-day free trial covers the premiere window.
Is Being Heumann based on a true story?
Yes. It dramatizes the real 1977 Section 504 sit-in in San Francisco and is based on the memoir of the late activist Judy Heumann.
Who plays Judy Heumann?
Ruth Madeley, opposite Mark Ruffalo as federal official Joseph Califano.
Will it play in theaters near me?
Apple has announced a limited theatrical run beginning November 6; the global streaming debut on November 13 is how most audiences will see it.
