ADFF:NY 2026 Screening: The Tower That Built A City

The Tower That Built A City
2026 / 92 mins / Canada
Director: Mark Myers
US Premiere
Trailer

In the 1970s, Toronto set out to build the world’s tallest tower- partly out of necessity, to restore failing broadcast signals, and partly to escape Montreal’s shadow. What rose was more than an engineering feat: it became a mirror of the city itself. Told through six chapters, the story follows the CN Tower as a living character - conceived in ambition, tested in construction, dismissed as kitsch, and ultimately reborn as an icon. Alongside the tower’s arc, Toronto’s own transformation unfolds: from an overlooked “second city” to a cultural force in sports, music, and global identity. 

Featuring voices from architects, engineers, musicians, politicians, athletes, media pioneers, and historians, The Tower That Build A City captures a sweeping half-century story of a city, a country, its people, and the architectural beacon that came to define them.