This Beautiful City is a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 drama film, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...

 in 2007 and had a general theatrical release in 2008.

The film depicts the lives of five disparate characters in Downtown Toronto

Downtown Toronto

Downtown Toronto is the central business district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately bounded by Bloor Street to the north, Lake Ontario to the south, the Don River to the east, and Bathurst Street to the west...

. Johnny (Aaron Poole

Aaron Poole

Aaron Poole is a Canadian actor. His credits include the films Killing Zelda Sparks, Adoration and This Beautiful City, and the television series Strange Days at Blake Holsey High and ZOS: Zone of Separation. He was nominated for Best Actor at the 29th Genie Awards for his performance in This...

) is a recovering crack cocaine

Crack cocaine

Crack cocaine is the freebase form of cocaine that can be smoked. It may also be termed rock, hard, iron, cavvy, base, or just crack; it is the most addictive form of cocaine. Crack rocks offer a short but intense high to smokers...

 addict trying to convince his prostitute girlfriend Pretty (Kristin Booth) to move with him to a new city so they can make a clean break from their old lives, while Harry (Noam Jenkins) and Carol (Caroline Cave

Caroline Cave

Caroline Cave is a Canadian film, television and stage actor, known for her roles in the films This Beautiful City, One Week and Saw VI, and the television series Cra$h & Burn...

) are a wealthy couple. Events are set in motion when Carol falls from the balcony of her condo in an apparent suicide attempt, landing just metres away from Johnny and Pretty in the alleyway below. She survives, but Peter (Stuart Hughes

Stuart Hughes

Stuart Hughes is a Canadian actor known for his leading roles on the stages of Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival, Soulpepper Theatre Company , and many other Canadian theatre companies.He has received three Dora Awards for the roles of Billy in The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, The Man in On the...

), a police detective, finds her and the group's lives begin to intertwine.

Cast

• Aaron Poole
  Aaron Poole
  Aaron Poole is a Canadian actor. His credits include the films Killing Zelda Sparks, Adoration and This Beautiful City, and the television series Strange Days at Blake Holsey High and ZOS: Zone of Separation. He was nominated for Best Actor at the 29th Genie Awards for his performance in This...
  
    ... Johnny
• Kristin Booth  ... Pretty
• Caroline Cave
  Caroline Cave
  Caroline Cave is a Canadian film, television and stage actor, known for her roles in the films This Beautiful City, One Week and Saw VI, and the television series Cra$h & Burn...
  
    ... Carol
• Noam Jenkins  ... Harry
• Stuart Hughes
  Stuart Hughes
  Stuart Hughes is a Canadian actor known for his leading roles on the stages of Shaw Festival, Stratford Festival, Soulpepper Theatre Company , and many other Canadian theatre companies.He has received three Dora Awards for the roles of Billy in The Collected Works of Billy the Kid, The Man in On the...
  
    ... Peter
• Kat Germain  ... Zoe
• Tony Nappo
  Tony Nappo
  Tony Nappo is a Canadian actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in Revelation, Saw II, Land of the Dead, Four Brothers, and You Might as Well Live.-Biography:Tony was born and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada...
  
    ... Crack
• Jefferson Mappin
  Jefferson Mappin
  Jefferson Mappin is a Canadian actor born in Montreal, Quebec.-External links:Jefferson Mappin has been a professional performer in Canada for more than thirty years....
  
    ... Phil
• Philip Akin
  Philip Akin
  Philip Akin is a Canadian actor who has been active for over thirty years in stage, film, and television. He has had featured roles in major American films such as The Sum of All Fears, S.W.A.T., and Get Rich or Die Tryin’...
  
    ... Police Chief
• Christopher Cordell  ... Green Jacket Jock
• Brian Frank  ... Steve

Soundtrack

The film's soundtrack includes songs by Bry Webb, Sunparlour Players

Sunparlour Players

Sunparlour Players are a Canadian alternative/folk rock band. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the band consists of Andrew Penner on lead vocals, guitar, bass, banjo, organ pedal, and kick drum, Dennis Van Dine on bass, keyboard, clarinet, banjo, glockenspiel, percussion and backing vocals, and Michael...

, Buck 65

Buck 65

Richard Terfry , who uses the stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian experimental artist, MC and turntablist. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country, rock, folk and avant garde influences.Terfry is also a radio host,...

, Jewish Legend

Josh Reichmann

Josh Reichmann is a Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter.Formerly associated with the band Tangiers, since that band's breakup he has performed under the stage name Jewish Legend...

 and Sebastien Grainger

Sebastien Grainger

Sebastien Alexandre Grainger from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada is a Canadian singer and musician, best known as drummer and singer of the dance-punk duo Death from Above 1979 and the singer and guitarist for his current band, Sebastien Grainger and The Mountains...

, Andre Ethier

Andre Ethier (musician)

Andre Ethier is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter and visual artist, who was formerly associated with the indie rock band The Deadly Snakes. He has also released three solo albums....

, Shad

Shad (rapper)

Shadrach Kabango , credited as Shad or Shad K., is a Canadian hip hop artist.-Early life:Born in Kenya, of Rwandan parents, Shad was raised in London, Ontario. His mother worked in London as a hospital lab technician; his father, as a machinist...

, The Ghost Is Dancing

The Ghost Is Dancing

The Ghost Is Dancing is a Canadian indie-pop band formed in 2002 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-History:Their first show was performed in August 2004 to commemorate the end of their residency at 2 French Avenue, the student apartment at which the group started playing and improvising...

, Emilie Mover and Dave MacKinnon

FemBots

FemBots are a Canadian indie rock band, originating from Toronto, Ontario. Originating members Dave MacKinnon and Brian Poirier also travel with The Weakerthans on tour...

.

Awards and nominations

The film was nominated for four Genies

Genie Award

Genie Awards are given out to recognize the best of Canadian cinema by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. From 1949-1979, the awards were named the Canadian Film Awards...

 at the 29th Genie Awards

29th Genie Awards

The 29th Genie Awards were held on April 4, 2009 to honour films released in 2008. The ceremony was held at the Canadian Aviation Museum in Ottawa, Ontario, and was broadcast on Global...

, including Best Actor (Poole), Best Original Song (Bry Webb, "Big Smoke"), Best Sound and Best Sound Editing.