Panel 4

Who Makes the City? Mythmaking & Film

August 14, 2026

3:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Cities are not only shaped by infrastructure and policy. They are shaped by story. Through film, branding, architecture, tourism campaigns, public art, media, and popular culture, cities construct narratives about who belongs, what matters, and what futures feel possible.

As Calgary rapidly transforms, competing visions of the city are beginning to emerge. Is Calgary a corporate city? A creative city? An oil capital? A cultural frontier? A prairie metropolis? And who gets to define its identity moving forward? Bringing together filmmakers and agents of culture this panel examines how myth, media, and creative industries influence public perception and civic imagination.

This panel is presented by Calgary Economic Development & The Calgary International Film Festival

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BUMP Festival returns August 3–17, 2026, transforming Calgary through murals, sculpture, music, placemaking, and artistic dialogue. Running August 13–15, the BUMP Urban Art Conference is the festival’s ideas hub—a three-day gathering of artists, thinkers, musicians, and cultural leaders exploring the forces shaping public art and the cities we share.