Fonyo (2012)

Stephen Charles Fonyo, Jr., (born June 29, 1965 to a Hungarian family in Montreal) is a Canadian man who lost his left leg to cancer at age 12 and embarked on a cross-Canada marathon entitled the "Journey for Lives" to raise funds for cancer research. In doing so, he followed in the footsteps of Terry Fox; unlike Fox, who had to abandon the Marathon of Hope when his cancer returned, Fonyo completed the coast-to-coast marathon and also completed a marathon across the United Kingdom. Fonyo began his "Journey for Lives" marathon on March 31, 1984 at 18 years of age and completed it on May 29, 1985, covering 7,924 km (4,924 mi) and raising $14 million (CDN). The early part of his run was overshadowed by the memory of Fox and many Canadians criticized him as a copycat. Despite this, he persevered and as he progressed beyond Fox's stopping point, he eventually won recognition in his own right for his efforts. He was named an Officer of the Order of Canada, Canada's most prestigious civilian award in 1985, the youngest person ever given that status at the time. Since then Steve Fonyo has struggled with addiction, violence, and eventual homelessness. His problems with the law have made him tabloid fodder and in 2010, after his most recent arrest for charges that include fraud and assault Fonyo was removed from the Order of Canada, making him only the fourth person in history to suffer this embarrassment. FONYO chronicles Steve Fonyo's rise to fame and fall from grace and spends time with Steve as he awaits sentencing at Surrey Pre-Trial Detention Centre in British Columbia. The documentary argues whether a few mistakes and bad decisions outweigh the good Steve Fonyo has accomplished in life and argues for his re-instatement into The Order of Canada. FONYO, is also a no-holds-barred look into the scandals that have plagued Steve's life including those that never made it into the papers.