New Delhi, July 8 -- "Being Heumann," director Sian Heder's film about the late disability rights activist Judith Heumann, will open the 51st Toronto International Film Festival.

Festival organizers announced Tuesday that "Being Heumann," starring Ruth Madeley as Heumann, will make its world premiere on the opening night of the Canadian festival Sept. 10. The festival runs through Sept. 20.

Heumann, who died in 2023, has been called the "mother of the disability rights movement" for her longtime advocacy and for lobbying for what eventually led to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act. Heumann, who lost the ability to walk at age 2, was also a central figure in the Oscar-nominated 2020 film "Crip Camp."

"Being Heumann" is Heder's...