A coming-of-age documentary about a man with autism is set to debut at theaters across the country this summer.

“Life, Animated” will be released starting July 1 at movie theaters in New York and Los Angeles, with at least a dozen other markets already committed to showing the film later in July and August.

The film is based on the best-selling book “Life Animated: a story of Sidekicks, Heroes and Autism” by Pulitzer Prize-winner Ron Suskind about his son, Owen, who has autism.

After he stopped speaking at age 3, Owen Suskind learned to communicate and relate to the world around him again through his love of Disney animation. The film tells the story of Owen reaching adulthood by intertwining video of him with scenes from Disney classics and animation based on Owen’s drawings.

“Life, Animated” won an award for directing when it premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Rights to the film were subsequently acquired by the distribution company The Orchard, which will handle its release this summer.

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