Treasure trove of unseen Terry Fox footage to be showcased in new documentary

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This article was published 27/08/2025 (405 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TORONTO – While the story of Terry Fox has been told many times, a new documentary will provide insight into the Canadian icon’s greatest moments of weakness and triumph along the 1980 Marathon of Hope.

Toronto filmmaker Sean Menard says he’s pulled from more than 90 reels of mostly unseen footage to make “Run Terry Run,” set for release later this year.

The feature-length documentary captures Fox, whose right leg was amputated after an osteogenic sarcoma diagnosis, as he embarks on the ambitious goal of running across the country with an artificial leg in an effort to raise money for cancer research.

Fox’s journey began in St John’s and was cut short near Thunder Bay, Ont., as his cancer spread to his lungs. He died in 1981. But his marathon raised more than $24 million — $1 for every Canadian at the time.

Menard says his film captures “the evolution of a 21-year-old,” starting with Fox when he’s a less-confident runner who’s simply propelled by a grand idea. It eventually finds him as a young man learning to manage the international spotlight while pushing his limits.

“You get a sense of who Terry really is,” he said. “Him smiling; him laughing.”

Fox’s story has been the subject of many television biopics and documentaries — including 2010’s “Into the Wind,” part of ESPN’s award-winning “30 For 30” docuseries — but Menard describes his film as unlike the others.

He said the camera crew that followed Fox captured the emotional and physical toll of moving ahead with a prosthetic leg made only for walking.

The film’s title was inspired by a phrase Menard said Canadians yelled out as Fox ran by them on the streets.

“I heard it in audio files and came across signs people made,” he said.

Menard has experience telling the stories of pivotal moments in Canadian culture. He made the 2017 Vince Carter basketball biography “The Carter Effect” as well as last year’s MuchMusic nostalgia trip “299 Queen Street West.”

The idea of revisiting Fox’s story was inspired by his own misunderstandings of the moment in Canadian history, which transpired a few years before he was born.

“I thought he made it across the whole country,” the 40-year-old said. “I thought he was a seasoned marathon runner before he lost his leg.”

Already obsessed with preserving Canada’s video history, Menard said he was convinced there were probably hours of footage sitting out there somewhere.

With the help of the Terry Fox Foundation, he tracked down hours of archival film in a storage facility a few blocks from his home.

He said 96 reels of mostly 16-mm footage underwent a 4K restoration that lifted new details from the degrading negatives, such as the sweat on Fox’s face, while keeping some elements of the aged film intact.

“There’s little hairs and fabrics and it looks very much like 1980,” Menard said. “But there’s a beauty to that.”

“Run Terry Run” also features audio interviews with people who accompanied Fox on parts of his journey, including Doug Alward, Fox’s best friend and the driver of the van during the Marathon of Hope.

An original score has been recorded by U.S. composer Tom Caffey, who previously worked on the Michael Jordan Netflix docuseries “The Last Dance.”

And when the film makes its debut at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall on Nov. 10, the music will be performed live by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

After that, Menard plans to embark on a wider theatrical release next year that may include the involvement of other symphonies across the country.

Tickets for the one-night Roy Thomson Hall presentation are on sale through the venue’s website, with proceeds going to the Terry Fox Foundation and cancer research.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 27, 2025.