Victor Walk is a documentary about NHL Stanley Cup Winner Theo Fleury and his 10-day walk from Toronto to Ottawa, Canada’s capital. His 400-kilometer walk is meant to bring awareness for adults, who were sexually abused as children and to urge Canadian lawmakers to strengthen laws against predators and support for their victims.
Dances with Films 2016 – World Premiere
Director: Michael David Lynch
Subject: Theo Fleury
Victor Walk is a powerful documentary focusing on adult victims of sexual abuse. It does everything that a documentary has to do to shed light on a serious problem facing Canadians and Americans. In North America, 1 out of 4 men and 1 out of 3 women have been sexually abused.
Fleury uses the Victor Walk to first show that victims of sexual abuse no longer need to let their abuse define who they are. The struggle for survival was not easy, but Fleury overcame and is now victorious over his abuse.
As a teen, Fleury was sexually abused by his hockey coach. Quickly becoming an NHL star, Fleury fought the demons of anger, drugs and gambling. Soon his career and riches were gone. Fleury found himself alone in a room ready to commit suicide. Choosing survival, Fleury’s life is now dedicated to letting his fellow Canadians know this by walking from Toronto to Ottawa. It is in Ottawa that Fleury will ultimately confront lawmakers asking them to make real reforms in the prosecution of sex offenders.
Not only does Victor Walk educate us about the current state of sexual abuse in Canada, but it connects us with real faces left in the wake of abuse. For 10 days, Fleury would walk 400 kilometers and never a day goes by along the walk that dozens of adults come out to lend support and for many releases, for the first time, the specter of abuse they have been carrying all their lives until today. Fleury is there to encourage these brave men and women to find victory.
Like a good documentary, Victor Walk leaves its audiences feeling like more needs to be done. It’s hard not to feel compassion for those suffering in silence, feel joy when a victim finally frees themselves by talking and anger that the laws of Canada (and the United States for that matter) don’t do enough to keep predators behind bars.
There are a lot of information warning children and parents about sexual predators. Victor Walk is one of the rare movies that speaks directly to adults, who have had to hide their shame for decades. You can learn more about Victor Walk and upcoming screenings at victorwalkdoc.com.
8 out of 10 stars