A new documentary trailer showcasing previously unseen footage of Terry Fox has been unveiled today, a month before its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). Titled “Run Terry Run,” the documentary delves into Fox’s 1980 Marathon of Hope using nearly 100 recently discovered archival reels.
The trailer includes conversations and insights from key figures such as Doug Alward, a close friend and van driver, Darrell Fox, Terry’s younger brother, and Terry Fox himself as he embarked on his iconic cross-Canada run at the age of 21 to raise funds for cancer research.
Director Sean Menard from Toronto obtained the raw footage from filmmaker John Simpson, who documented Fox’s journey with multiple camera operators from the East Coast. Menard’s search for authentic footage was supported by the Terry Fox Foundation, leading to the recovery of the footage from a storage unit in Toronto near Menard’s residence. The reels were meticulously restored to 4K quality for the documentary, which premiered at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto last year.
The documentary, as highlighted in a review by Canadian Running, opts for voiceovers from key figures like Alward, Darrell Fox, Leslie Scrivener, and Darryl Sittler, avoiding traditional talking head interviews.
Terry Fox’s impact from his Marathon of Hope, which began in 1980 and spanned over 5,000 kilometers before being halted near Thunder Bay due to his illness, continues to resonate. Despite Fox’s passing in 1981, the marathon raised over $24 million at the time, with the Terry Fox Foundation surpassing $1 billion in cancer research funds this year.
Terry Fox has been the focus of several documentaries in the past, and in 2024, it was announced that his image would grace Canada’s upcoming $5 banknote. Menard’s documentary captures the transformation of Fox from a young, determined runner with a vision to an individual navigating global attention while testing his own limits.
“Run Terry Run” is set to premiere at TIFF on September 19, just before the 46th annual Terry Fox Run, with a planned theatrical release on October 9, 2026. The documentary features an original score by composer Tom Caffey, known for his work on projects like the Michael Jordan Netflix series “The Last Dance.”