Being Heumann was the best film I saw at TIFF this year.
Directed by CODA filmmaker Siân Heder, the film tells the true story of disability rights activist Judy Heumann (Ruth Madeley) and the movement that fought to make accessibility a right rather than an afterthought.
What struck me most was how effectively the film puts us into a world that cinema rarely shows. Something as ordinary as using a washroom becomes an ordeal when the world simply wasn’t designed for you. Education could be equally dehumanizing, with disabled students having their potential dismissed rather than accommodated.
Heumann and her fellow activists eventually decide they’ve had enough, leading to the historic 1977 occupation of a federal building. What follows is inspiring without making the fight look easy. Authorities attempt to wear the protesters down, while unexpected allies including the Black Panthers help keep them going.
Ruth Madeley is fantastic as Heumann, leading an ensemble filled with disabled actors who give the film an authenticity that feels essential rather than performative. Mark Ruffalo and Dylan O’Brien add recognizable faces, but Heder wisely keeps the movement itself at the centre.
Perhaps the film’s strongest point is also its simplest: accessibility isn’t some niche concern. Disability can affect anyone, and aging alone means many of us will eventually depend on accommodations we might currently take for granted.
Being Heumann celebrates how far disability rights have come without pretending the work is finished. More importantly, it makes visible a community that inaccessible spaces have historically helped keep invisible.
Powerful, funny, frustrating and deeply human, this was my TIFF ’26 standout. For more information, click here.
