A new short film featuring a never-before-heard version of a Tragically Hip song will premiere at the TIFF Lightbox this week in honour of World Cancer Day.
The Terry Fox Foundation, which produced the film, said an unheard version of the well-known Hip song Courage will make its debut during the screening on Feb. 4.
Organizers said the film launch is part of 45th anniversary celebration of Fox’s iconic Marathon of Hope, in which the beloved Canadian icon embarked on a run across the country to raise money for cancer research. Fox's own leg was amputated after a cancer diagnosis of osteogenic sarcoma just above the knee.
Fox was unable to complete his cross country run and later died in June 1981 after cancer appeared in his lungs. He was 22.
The Terry Fox Foundation called the film the "most powerful work ever done to honour Terry."
At the premiere, the Terry Fox Foundation said cancer survivors will speak about their experience with precision oncology and the impact of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. A new brand platform for the Terry Fox Foundation and Research Institute will also be unveiled.
Fox's family members, including older brother Fred, sister Judith and niece Kirsten, are expected to attend the event.
Gord Sinclair, the bass player for the Tragically Hip, and Patrick and Mike Downie, brothers of the Hip's late singer Gord Downie will also be in attendance.
Gord Downie, anothe beloved Canadian icon, died of brain cancer in 2017 at the age of 53.
Feb. 4 is the internationally recognized World Cancer Day, marked to raise awareness of cancer and encourage the prevention, detection and treatment of the disease.
Since Fox's original Marathon of Hope in 1980, over $900 million has been raised for cancer research in Fox’s name through the annual Terry Fox Run, held across Canada and around the world.
According to estimates from the Canadian Cancer Society, every day in 2024 an average of 675 people in the country were expected to be diagnosed with cancer and 241 people likely died from the disease. It is estimated about 47,300 males and 40,800 females died from cancer in Canada in 2024, with lung cancer being the leading cause of cancer death among both groups.
