Nonfiction filmmaking duo Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui turned heads with their dazzling 2018 fashion doc McQueen, which gracefully walked the line between celebration and sorrow, between the public highs of a brilliant creator of wearable art and the private lows of a man plagued by insurmountable demons. They achieve a comparable balance in their moving new film, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, between the iconic movie star and the man whose life was stalled by a tragic accident. The big difference is that unlike Alexander McQueen, Reeve did manage to overcome long days of darkness and despair, living a productive life for his remaining years.

Late in the film, footage shows President Barack Obama in 2009 signing the Christopher and Dana Reeve Paralysis Act, the bipartisan-supported first legislation specific to the millions of under-represented Americans living with spinal cord injuries and paralysis, named for the actor and his fellow activist wife.