Rebekah Taussig Named One of Variety’s 10 Screenwriters to Watch for 2026
31 Oct 2026
Author, disability advocate, and educator Rebekah Taussig has been named one of Variety’s 10 Screenwriters to Watch for 2026, recognizing her work on the upcoming film Being Heumann.
The annual list spotlights emerging screenwriters behind notable film and television projects, with the 2026 class honored as part of the Santa Fe International Film Festival. For Taussig, the recognition marks an unexpected expansion of a career already rooted in writing, education, disability advocacy, and storytelling.
Taussig did not initially join Being Heumann as a screenwriter. She came aboard as a consultant and quickly became deeply invested in shaping the story, bringing extensive research and ideas about character and narrative to the project. Director and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Siân Heder ultimately invited her to co-write the screenplay.
The project also carried personal significance. Taussig has spoken about reaching adulthood without having learned the full history of the disability rights activism led by Judy Heumann and others in the 1970s. Discovering that history gave her an added sense of urgency around helping bring the story to a wider audience.
Rebekah Taussig on Being Heumann, Disability Representation, and Storytelling
Being Heumann tells the story of pioneering disability rights activist Judy Heumann and the movement surrounding the historic Section 504 sit-in of 1977, a pivotal chapter in the fight for disability rights in the United States.
For Taussig, whose memoir Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body explores disability, identity, and the stories society tells about disabled lives, the project offered an opportunity to bring that perspective to the screen.
In its profile, Variety highlights Taussig’s commitment to authenticity as a fundamental part of strong storytelling rather than something added after the fact. That philosophy also runs through her work as a speaker, where she challenges audiences to rethink disability, accessibility, representation, and who is included in the stories and communities we build.
The recognition marks an exciting new chapter for Taussig as her work expands from memoir, education, and advocacy into film.