ADFF Toronto 2025: Prickly Mountain and My Design Build Life

Prickly Mountain and My Design Build Life (2025) takes us to Warren, Vermont—a remarkable small town with more architects and designers per capita than anywhere else in the USA. Warren became an architect’s haven in the 1960s, when a group of Yale-trained architects settled there, embracing collaboration and hands-on craftsmanship over the corporate world of their contemporaries.

Director Allie Rood, who grew up in this vibrant environment, offers an insider’s perspective on a place where design is not just a profession, but a way of life. The film celebrates the freedom, spontaneity, and deep sense of connection that come from choosing to live in a place that privileges creativity. This is a story about community, values, and the radical act of designing the way we live, work, and grow together.

About the Architecture and Design Film Festival

The Architecture and Design Film Festival (ADFF)—North America’s largest film festival dedicated to architecture and design—is coming back to Toronto for another year of great films and insightful discussions! From November 12-15, catch one of their amazing lineup of 13 films, from all over the world. Looking for the full list of films showcased at this year’s ADFF: Toronto? See the complete programme on the festival’s website!

The TSA is proud to once again be partnering with ADFF: Toronto to bring a series of panel discussions and post-screening Q&As that complement this year’s film roster. These panels bring together architects, film-makers, and subject matter experts to further explore the themes of each film and bring them back to our local context here in Toronto.

TSA MEMBERS: Members get discounted tickets to all showings at ADFF: Toronto! Keep an eye out for the code in the announcement of the ticket sales launch.