LOS ANGELES: Oscar-winning filmmaker Sian Heder’s disability rights drama Being Heumann will open the 51st Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), organisers have announced.
The film, starring Ruth Madeley as late disability rights activist Judith Heumann, will have its world premiere on 10 September at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, marking the festival’s opening night.
Adapted from Heumann’s memoir, Being Heumann chronicles the activist’s efforts as she leads more than 100 disabled people in a 28-day protest calling for the enforcement of provisions under the US Rehabilitation Act that required federal spaces to become accessible.
The film is Heder’s first feature since CODA, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture after premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021.
TIFF also announced the world premieres of Prima Facie, starring Cynthia Erivo, and South Korean filmmaker Hur Jin-ho’s political thriller The Assassin(s).
Directed by Susanna White, Prima Facie is based on Suzie Miller’s award-winning stage play about a successful lawyer whose confidence in the legal system is shaken after she is sexually assaulted by a colleague. Jodie Comer originally played the role in the West End and Broadway productions, earning both Olivier and Tony Awards for her performance.
The Assassin(s), featuring Yoo Hae-jin, Park Hae-il and Lee Min-ho, is set against the backdrop of the 1974 assassination attempt on former South Korean president Park Chung-hee.
“We’re thrilled to open this year’s festival with Sian Heder’s inspiring follow-up to her Oscar-winning CODA. Being Heumann features an electric performance from Ruth Madeley in the story of Judy Heumann, a world-changing advocate for accessibility,” TIFF chief executive Cameron Bailey said in a statement.
The 51st Toronto International Film Festival will take place from 10 to 20 September.
(With inputs from PTI)