A new documentary about Terry Fox, showcasing never-before-seen footage, unveiled its trailer today, a month prior to its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Titled “Run Terry Run,” the documentary delves into the 1980 Marathon of Hope by Terry Fox, the British Columbia athlete and advocate for cancer research, using nearly 100 recently discovered archival reels.
The trailer includes insights and commentary from key figures such as Doug Alward, a friend who drove the support van, Darrell Fox, Terry’s younger brother, and Terry Fox himself, recounting his journey as a 21-year-old attempting to run across Canada to raise funds for cancer research post his leg amputation due to osteogenic sarcoma.
The director of the film, Sean Menard from Toronto, acquired the original footage from filmmaker John Simpson, who had thought the remaining reels had been discarded after producing his own documentary in 1981. Motivated by the scarcity of high-quality footage on Fox’s run, Menard, with the assistance of the Terry Fox Foundation, uncovered the lost footage in a Toronto storage unit near his residence.
After restoring the film reels to 4K quality, Menard premiered the documentary at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall last year. The film does not rely on traditional interviews but instead features voiceovers from key individuals like Alward, Darrell Fox, Leslie Scrivener, the first journalist to cover the Marathon of Hope, and Darryl Sittler, the former captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs who ran alongside Terry during part of his journey.
Terry Fox initiated his marathon on April 12, 1980, aiming to run from St. John’s to Victoria, covering 5,373 kilometers before halting near Thunder Bay, Ontario, due to cancer spreading to his lungs. Despite his passing in 1981, Fox’s marathon raised over $24 million at the time, with each Canadian contributing $1. The Terry Fox Foundation recently surpassed $1 billion in funds for cancer research.
Several documentaries have been dedicated to Fox, including the one by Simpson and the 1983 film “The Terry Fox Story.” In a tribute, the Bank of Canada announced that Fox’s image would grace the forthcoming $5 banknote in 2024.
The documentary by Menard captures the transformation of a 21-year-old Fox, evolving from a hesitant runner with a grand vision to a confident individual managing the global spotlight while pushing his boundaries. The film features an original score by composer Tom Caffey, known for his work on the Michael Jordan Netflix series “The Last Dance.”
“Run Terry Run” is set to premiere at TIFF on September 19, a day before the 46th annual Terry Fox Run, followed by a theatrical release on October 9, 2026.
