Reza Dahya directs and produces Boxcutter, which just had its international premiere at SXSW. The story sees aspiring Canadian rapper, Rome, tracking down his four producers across Toronto to reassemble his album in time for the event that could change his life. In a recent interview with Jaylan Salah from Geek Vibes Nation, Rez talks about his love letter to Toronto, its hip hop and R&B music scene, the struggle of the artist’s striving for perfection, and how when the vibe is right everything falls into place.
Geek Vibes Nation (Jaylan Salah): This movie is a love letter to Toronto and music. Why did you decide to make this film?
Reza Dahya: Music is everything to me. When I was trying to figure out what my first feature was going to be, I was having a bit of a hard time, but it dawned on me that I have this whole past life working in music and around artists. I felt like I needed to put these two worlds together and that sparked the whole thing from there.
GVN: Why did you choose to structure the film as a “day in the life” journey, with the artist piecing together his music like a puzzle?
RD: I have to give it up to our writer, Chris Cromie, who had the genesis of the idea and then I helped out. We started by putting a timeline on it, but it ended up being a day in the life and we both love those kinds of movies. They’re fun to watch and keep the movement going. And this is a rarity in indie films. Many indie films tend to have a slower pace and explore deeper, more intense themes. While this approach is undeniably beautiful, we’re drawn to the idea of creating something with a bit more energy and momentum.
GVN: How did you decide on the look of the film and the color palette?
RD: That was a huge thing because as a Canadian, a lot of our films are based in winter, so we see a lot of up north, cottage-type aesthetics. I speak for myself when I say that I was tired of seeing this on screen and I wanted to see the city in summertime with the sun, the blue sky, and all the different colors like the red of the streetcars.
It is a major thing, and to be able to see [the city] with the sun shining can have a magical effect. In Toronto, we’re always waiting for summertime. Because the winters can be long, so when that first hit of mild weather comes, it’s popping. And summers here are beautiful and special. So I wanted to capture that feel.
GVN: Who was your inspiration for Rome [the main protagonist]?
RD: Rome is an amalgamation of different people and characters in my life. I’ve met many artists and creatives along the way who love the craft so much and they’re so talented, but unfortunately they can’t produce music or put it out there quickly. There is a different kind of switch that some people don’t have, and they need extra time and space to make sure it’s right or in other words, perfect. Yes, perfection is impossible. But there’s definitely a striving for that and an idea of how it might be.
I feel like great artists always battle with that, how their art is never good enough, but they have to get to a point where it’s ready, otherwise they end up in a world of isolation, and the creative process becomes unhealthy. Even I find myself in Rome a little bit. I remember how I was terrified and found myself leaning toward perfectionism with my work. What makes things worse is that I’m an editor, too, which is a trait that you need to have a little bit of but not too much [or it will kill the creative process]. So yes, he’s a mix of multiple people but Rome specifically is a love letter to the Canadian artists —the Toronto artists— that I love who are brilliant. you know, and yeah, so it’s a mix.
GVN: Ashton James and Zoe Lewis were great as Rome and Jenaya. How did you get the actors to have this amazing chemistry?
RD: We did a regular casting process, and it all came down to the chemistry test. We got [each pair of actors] in the room together and let them play, and we watched what they did when they were ad-libbing and free. It was like they had a familial bond and they felt like a brother and sister from the start.
When I started to see that chemistry on set, I was like, “Oh, man, this is going to be so beautiful,” because there are little moments where they’re being themselves and just talking, but it feels surreal and lovely to watch.
GVN: When did you decide to create a film about a struggling hip-hop artist that avoids clichés and tells an authentic story?
RD: They always say make the movie you want to see and I felt like I’ve seen a lot of “been there done that” films. It gets to a time where you need to expand the format and the genre beyond what is expected. So I just thought, why not? It felt right at every step along the way. And it seems to me that people are resonating well with it.
GVN: How did you decide on which songs to add in the film’s soundtrack?
RD: It was a vibe. I edited the film, so during the editing process, I would pick out the moments when we needed music. So I would throw in some songs that I liked and see how they work. I remember there’s one scene in the film where they’re in a chase, like in a stairwell. And I didn’t know what [the music] was going to be. And I was riding the subway listening to music, and this song came on and it was perfect. It’s usually that you listen to music and have it in the back of your head, then a scene pops in and you drop the song in the edit. To summarize, if it works, it works. If it doesn’t, you try something else. What mattered most, though, was that the entire soundtrack featured Canadian artists—specifically, all Toronto-based musicians.
GVN: What was the most difficult scene for you to shoot?
RD: There was that chase up the staircase. We shot that in 12 minutes. So that was very difficult just for time constraints. In the beginning, I also had no idea how to do it. And James [Klopko], our DP, instructed me on how to work it out and do it a couple of times, so that was kind of mindblowing. I’d say the early days were also definitely challenging, specifically in a couple of the early scenes, because I hadn’t directed anything for three or four years, so I needed the first week [of shooting] to get back into it. I leaned on James for a couple of days when I was somehow lost. So it took me a while to get into the vibe, but when I got into a groove, the shoot became a fun and amazing experience. Especially with the right people, because our crew was amazing.
It was beautiful, man.
Boxcutter held its International Premiere as part of the 24 Beats Per Second section of the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival.
Jaylan Salah Salman is an Egyptian poet, translator, and film critic for InSession Film, Geek Vibes Nation, and Moviejawn. She has published two poetry collections and translated fourteen books for International Languages House publishing company. She began her first web series on YouTube, “The JayDays,” where she comments on films and other daily life antics. On her free days, she searches for recipes to cook while reviewing movies.
