Producer Kevin J. Walsh Had Seen It All. Then ‘Being Heumann’ Came Along

Kevin J. Walsh says producing *Being Heumann* was daunting despite his long career in film, because he and director Sian Heder wanted to honour disability activist Judy Heumann’s fight for accessibility while making the production itself accessible. He says he is as proud of the inclusive set they created as he is of the film, which was released on Apple TV on 13 November.

The film depicts the 1977 Section 504 Sit-in, when disabled activists occupied federal buildings for more than three weeks until regulations protecting disabled people’s civil rights were signed. The regulations helped fund accessible features such as ramps and curb cuts and contributed to the path towards the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The production cast more than a dozen disabled actors and worked with a ten-person accessibility team; actor Michael Patrick Thornton said it was the first time he had been able to use a hair and make-up trailer.