Montreal filmmaker Tony Girardin always loved to tinker around with old collectible bikes. Little did he know that he lived in the same city as world-class bike-maker and record-holding rider Giuseppe Marinoni.
This discovery planted the seed for a project, and he knew he needed to let his camera roll. 鈥淲hen I first met him, I saw the fire is his eyes and thought it had to be captured on film,鈥� Girardin told The 小蓝视频.
The result is Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame, a documentary that has been attracting rave reviews on the festival circuit and winning over audiences. This Friday, Oct. 30, Girardin will bring the film to Squamish, as a part of a tour of 小蓝视频 cities; it will play at the Squamish Adventure Centre at 7 p.m.
Girardin admits it wasn鈥檛 an easy project to get going due to the reticence of Marinoni and his family. It took three years to convince his subject to take part.
Marinoni, now 78, holds the cycling record for the 75-79 age group, and he initially thought the documentary would focus on his record ride. Instead, the ride only takes up a few minutes of the feature-length film.
For the director, Marinoni鈥檚 life story is more than just a race. In part, it鈥檚 the story of an immigrant from Italy, a passionate man that had to reinvent himself in his 30s. 鈥淗e went from tailoring suits to tailoring bikes,鈥� Girardin said.
This new life did come at a cost: Marinoni became ill as a result of his obsessively working over his bikes because of exposure to toxic materials.聽
鈥淔or two years he sweat red from basically purging his body鈥�. All his undershirts were red.鈥�
The solution, according to a doctor, was for Marinoni to spend some of his time riding bikes rather than making them. And so the master bike maker became a champion rider. Girardin said that his subject now likes to pedal his age, and at the Subaru Centurion in the Blue Mountains near Ontario鈥檚 Georgian Bay, he rode his age and then some, as he braved the approximately 165 kilometres (100 miles) of the event, tackling tough climbs and tough weather.
For the first-time filmmaker, Marinoni鈥檚 whole story is important, especially all those years in the shop. The man learned his craft in his native Italy. Before Marinoni, no one in Canada was really building racing bikes, Girardin said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 definitely a lot of care and a lot of love put into his bikes,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 just fully devoted to his craft鈥�. All roads in Canada lead to Marinoni.鈥�
An early cut of Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame showed at Toronto鈥檚 acclaimed Hot Docs festival last fall, but it only officially opened this March. It has been shown approximately 400 times across the country, attracting huge runs in Montreal, placing second for an audience award in Vancouver and selling out the Vancouver Playhouse. A 惭补肠濒别补苍鈥檚 article by Martin Patriquin from October 2014 called it a 鈥渜uirky and uplifting character study of a cycling legend.鈥�
In Ottawa, the documentary even had to compete with a Senators-Canadiens playoff game this spring. Girardin had expected maybe 40 or 50 people to show, but the theatre was packed with 550 people.聽
There鈥檚 even a bit of an area connection to the subject, as Marinoni once sponsored Whistler rider Ross Chafe, who died in a cycling accident last year. Friday鈥檚 showing will raise funds through a raffle for a special bicycle that Marinoni made to raise money for cycling safety in memory of Chafe and Kelly Blunden, who died in the same accident. For more information or advance tickets, go to the Squamish Adventure Centre鈥檚 page on Facebook.
