Being Heumann Is Coming to Apple TV

Being Heumann Arrives on Apple TV, With Sign Language Built In

Judy Heumann spent her life proving the world could be built differently. This Friday, her story reaches viewers everywhere.

Being Heumann premieres globally on Apple TV on Friday, November 13, after opening in theaters on November 6. You can add it to your watchlist on Apple TV now. It also launches alongside something new: sign language interpretation in the Apple TV app.

About the film

Ruth Madeley plays Judy Heumann, a scrappy, defiant activist who is done being treated like a burden. The film is set during the 1977 Section 504 sit-in in San Francisco, where Judy and more than 100 disability rights protesters sent a loud message: the system is broken, not us.

It’s directed by Siân Heder, who also made CODA. That film made history as the first with a predominantly Deaf cast to receive the Best Picture honour.

A new way to watch: sign language on Apple TV

Apple announced that viewers can now watch supported titles with sign language interpretation, and Being Heumann debuts with it. Here’s how it works:

• Turn it on: enable the Sign Language option in Apple TV app settings, then press the Sign Language button while you watch.
• Find titles easily: supported titles carry a Sign Language icon, and you can search with phrases like “with ASL.”
• A dedicated collection: a new “Movies & Shows with American Sign Language” collection gathers supported titles in one place.
• More coming: ASL and BSL interpretation will be available for F1. Way of the Warrior Kid and Greyhound follow later this year, with more Apple Originals to come. 

“At Apple, we believe everyone should be able to enjoy great stories and entertainment,” says Sarah Herrlinger, Apple’s senior director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives. “Bringing sign language interpretation to Apple TV is an exciting step forward in making the viewing experience more accessible and inclusive for Deaf audiences.”

What we love most is who shaped it. The experience was designed and tested by Deaf and native signers. Daniel Durant, who appears in Being Heumann, directed the film’s sign language interpretation.

For more details, visit Apple’s press page and check the full list of supported devices.

Inside the conversation with Siân Heder and Ruth Madeley

A few weeks after the Toronto premiere, our founder and CEO, Maayan Ziv, sat down with Siân and Ruth to talk about what it will take for disability inclusion in film to become the norm and not the exception.

The response has been overwhelming. Siân said audience members, disabled and not, have told her the film changed how they see the world. Some said they now notice accessibility everywhere. “I feel like a different person after watching the movie,” is how she described what people share with her. Ruth called the response “overwhelming in the most lovely way.” She also said the conversations happening inside the industry are really exciting.

Accessibility should be the norm, not a “story tick.” Siân said the way forward is for people to forge the path and show it can be done. She admitted that filmmaking has its own pressures, like tight schedules and inaccessible locations, but said you can meet both needs. Ramps for wheelchair-using actors also help the grips move equipment on and off set. An accessibility team supports disabled cast and crew, and also non-disabled actors dealing with something in their bodies who don’t want to hide it or pretend they’re not in pain.

That’s why she believes “an accessibility department should be a part of every set no matter what.”

Ruth added that change also means seeing disabled actors in all roles, not only in disabled stories. The industry can’t fall into the trap of thinking, “we’ve done the disabled story, tick.” And it took Siân deciding to tell this story in the first place.

Advice for emerging disabled creatives. 

Maayan closed by asking what they’d say to disabled creatives who want to break into the industry.

• Get specific. Siân said there’s intense pressure for one film to represent everyone and fix years of misrepresentation. But “the thing that’s going to move the needle is incredibly specific stories.” She pointed to Dennis Billups, a character whose story is about far more than being blind. It’s about being 19, Black, and blind in 1977, with a particular set of resources.
• Speak up about what you need. Ruth said she was terrified to ask for what she needed early in her career, and would answer “Nothing, I’m fine.” Now she says, “The fact that you have an access requirement doesn’t mean you have a limitation.”
• Separate access from ability. In Ruth’s words, “your job is to be a creative, it’s not to be an access expert.”

Watch Maayan’s full interview on Instagram: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

What you can do

• Watch it. Catch Being Heumann in theaters or stream it on Apple TV starting November 13. Add it to your watchlist, and bring friends, family, and coworkers. Strong viewership shows the industry that audiences want these stories.
• Try the sign language option. Turn it on, share it with your networks, and help people find it.
• Keep pushing for change. Ask for accessibility where you work, learn, and gather. Support disabled creators and storytellers. Try to advance accessibility in the spaces you are in. 

The disability rights movement continues – let’s keep showing up.

Latest on the blog