Steve Gleason was a hero to the city of New Orleans before he ever became a champion for those dealing with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Weeks after his diagnosis with ALS in 2011, Gleason’s wife found out she was pregnant. Knowing he would eventually lose the ability to speak, Gleason made the decision to record video blogs with messages for his then-unborn child.
Those recordings have been turned into a documentary simply called, “Gleason,” which premiered in theaters July 29. The film, which is an emotional roller coaster that evokes tears and laughter all the way through the end credits, has drawn rave reviews as an early Oscar contender for best documentary feature.