Steve Fonyo doc wins Platform prize at TIFF

A new documentary about Steve Fonyo, one of Canada’s largely forgotten running heroes, was selected as winner of the new Platform award at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday.

The documentary, titled HURT, was selected from a list of 12 films which had been nominated for the prize, and was directed by Alan Zweig, a Toronto-based directed. The award comes with a $25,000 prize. The prize, in a departure from the usual selection process the festival follows, was picked by judges.

Like Canadian icon Terry Fox, Steve Fonyo lost his leg to cancer. He lost his leg at the age of 12. When he was 18, in 1984, he began his run across Canada on a prosthetic leg. He completed the run in May of 1985, having raised $13 million.

Since completing his run, Fonyo saw a fall from grace. He was arrested on multiple occasions, struggled with legal troubles, suffered from drug addiction and attempted suicide. He was earlier this year rushed to hospital after being stabbed in his Surrey, B.C., home.

The Platform prize was added this year to mark the 40th year of the festival, which has grown to be one of the most prestigious and influential in the world.

The festival’s top prize, the People’s Choice Award, went to Room, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, based on the novel by the same name.