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Protesters stand in a crosswalk with their arms raised to stop traffic on a city street, as a woman in a wheelchair leads them in their protest.

Being Heumann

  Siân Heder  |  U.S.

They wouldn’t take Judy Heumann’s phone calls, so she took their building. In 1977, a young disabled woman (Ruth Madeley) and a scrappy coalition of outsiders decide they’ve had enough. What begins as one impulsive act becomes the longest occupation of a federal building in American history, as hundreds spontaneously seize government offices and refuse to leave until the bureaucrat in their way (Mark Ruffalo) takes action. Bringing rebellion in all its forms to the hallowed halls, a movement’s accidental leaders struggle to find their path forward where none has ever been paved for them.

Directed by Academy Award-winner Siân Heder (CODA) and based on true events, Being Heumann is the revolutionary, irreverent, and deeply human story of the least likely people trying to pull off the impossible and change the lives of millions.

 English 

 127 minutes

Screenings & Events

Screening

Sun, Oct 18 @ 12:00pm

at Gene Siskel Film Center, Screen 1
Venue information...

Festival passes can be used for this screening.
Accessibility options for this screening:
  • Open Captions
Learn about accessibility options...

Screening

Wed, Oct 21 @ 8:00pm

at Gene Siskel Film Center, Screen 1
Venue information...

Festival passes can be used for this screening.
Accessibility options for this screening:
  • Open Captions
Learn about accessibility options...

Media

Film Credits

  • Siân Heder, David Permut, Kevin Walsh, John W. Beach, Kevin Cleary
  • Siân Heder, Rebekah Taussig
  • Geraud Brisson
  • Jamie Ramsay
  • Ruth Madeley, Madeline Delp, Mark Ruffalo, Dylan O'Brien, Rob Delaney, Daniel Durant, Roberta Colindrez, Antwan Tolliver, Jon Beavers, Ray Fisher, Andrew Pilkington, Michael Patrick Thornton, Russell Harvard, Charlie Rush-Reese, Rio Finnegan, D'Arcee Charrington Neal, Will Brill, Matthew August Jeffers, Sienna Rafter, Rein Barcel
  • Francesco Le Metre
  • Judith Heumann, Kristen Joiner, James Lebrecht, Diana Pokorny, Ann Molin
  • Permut Presentations, The Walsh Co.

Sponsors

Presented In Partnership With

logo: University of Illinois Chicago

Film Supporters

logo: Robert Wood Johnson Foundationlogo: University of Illinois Chicago Department of Disability and Human Developmentlogo: Bodies of Work

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