Boxcutter is a love letter to Toronto and the city’s thriving hip-hop community. Directed by former radio personality and studio engineer Reza Dahya, this propulsive yet grounded film was shot in 32 locations across the GTA, featuring cameos from local artists like Rich Kidd, RUSSELL!, Junia-T, and Parveen Kaur.

The film follows aspiring rapper Rome (Ashton James) and Jenaya (Zoe Lewis), two friends on a day-long, citywide quest that brings up big questions about their artistic identities. When Rome’s apartment is robbed, the only copy of his meticulously crafted album is stolen. And it gets worse—today is the day that big-time producer Richie Hill is in town. Dead set on getting his album into Richie’s hands, Rome and Jenaya trek across the city, tracking down each song as they grapple with self-doubt, fear of failure, and conflicts between art and corporate interests.


Lewis brings an authentic charm to the character of Jenaya—a determined visual artist whose work reflects the dangers of gentrification in Toronto. Lewis is an artist herself—a Toronto-based singer-songwriter who creates songs across genres, including R&B, rap, hip-hop, soul, and reggae. While she played a role in Morningside, another recent Toronto-based film, Boxcutter is her first major film project. 

In our chat ahead of the film’s release, Lewis shares how she relates to both Rome and Jenaya, how she built a connection with her co-star, and the ups and downs of filming in Toronto in the summertime.

When you came on board, what were your first impressions of Boxcutter and of your character, Jenaya?

I was enamoured with it. Jenaya was just such a firecracker. I feel like I related to her personally, as an artist myself. Just her drive to continue doing what she’s doing, regardless of who’s gonna be with her along the road or not. The vision and the focus that she has. Reading it and seeing how fiery Jenaya is…I got a little attitude too! I’m a little fiery sometimes! Jenaya knows who she is, and sometimes she might not have the best way of saying certain things, but overall, she means it from a loving place.

The connection between Rome and Jenaya is really the heart of the film. How did you approach working with Ashton and building that chemistry between you?

Between Jenaya and Rome, and then even me and Ashton, gradually as we’re filming, you see our connection flourish and grow into this beautiful thing. I was really fortunate to have a co-star who gave me the room to be vulnerable and just be myself authentically. I didn’t feel like I needed to be shy or water down my personality, which I feel like really shows up with our relationship on screen. A lot of scenes in the movie are just authentic, raw clips— a lot of times I did not know we were filming. Rez, if you see this—man, you really got me! 

Jenaya and Rome’s stories both bring up so many big questions about art and integrity. As an artist yourself, what did these themes make you think about?

In the movie, there’s this big theme of Rome needing to get his music to this big producer. And a lot of times, artists feel like it’s going to take one person to put them on to a massive career. By the end of the movie, Rome’s kind of like…none of that stuff matters. He gets to a point where he realizes it’s just up to him to believe in himself, and believe the people around him telling him, like, put yourself out there. For myself as an artist, it really just sent home that message of be consistent, and remember to keep believing in yourself and keep putting yourself out there. As long as you’re being consistent, I really feel like you will find your ground and your footing and it will take you somewhere.

Boxcutter was filmed all across the GTA, changing locations every day. Toronto is like another character in the film. Can you share what shooting all around the city was like for you?

It was honestly really fun, especially being from Toronto and growing up in the city. I liked shooting on the streetcar…doing all those takes and going on and off the streetcar…seeing the reactions on the street as we’re filming. We filmed towards end of summer, and I love Toronto, I love the summer… but the only challenge I ran into was bees on set! Kirthiga, one of our assistant producers, was saying we could literally put a compilation together of me running from bees! 

The film is such a love letter to the city and also to the hip-hop community in Toronto. What do you hope the community will appreciate about the film?

I hope that the community appreciates the honesty in the movie. I think that a lot of artists will appreciate the perspectives it shows and how relatable it is. Whether you make music, whether you’re an actor, a filmmaker…I think people will just really appreciate how it shows what it’s like to have something you care about so deeply, and what it feels like to want to share that with people. It’s a really scary thing to share your craft and be vulnerable with people. 

What’s next for you in acting and in music? 

Right now, I’m definitely looking into some new roles. I’m excited, and we’ll see where that takes me. You guys will definitely be seeing me on the big screen again soon, after this movie! And as far as my music goes, I actually just dropped a single called Attitude & Motion. It is out now on all streaming platforms. I do have a project that I’m working on coming out towards the end of the year, and another single that I am going to be releasing in June. So stay tuned. Stay on the lookout for Zoe!

Why should people go out and watch Boxcutter?

It’s definitely going to give you a little laugh, that’s for sure! But also, it’s a love letter to Toronto. It’s a love letter to the city and to humanity in general, because there is a lot of relatable stuff in the movie. Regardless of whether you’re relating to Sid, you’re relating to Rome, or you’re relating to Jenaya…it makes you feel something. I hope that everyone goes out and sees it and enjoys it as much as I do.

Boxcutter is out now in theatres across Canada.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.