Clocking in at a wild 90-min, director and LGBTQ+ champion Mark Schwab (Brotherly Lies, Exteriors) returns to the indie scene with Cutaways, a darling comedy that is, at once, oh so very edgy and damned memorable, proving to be - in my estimation - Schwab’s best work to date.
His work continues to be a unique voice which is able to balance many different personalities in a way that makes them feel complete, relevant, and never cartoonish . . . even as the world around them, spiraling out of control, dares to be extreme.
Matching his wit and knack at crafting true characters with some great cinematography from Jessica Gallant, Cutaways continues his established trend of creating dynamic situations and delivering on their premise as a disgraced arthouse director finds himself at a proverbial crossroads in his life thanks to being unfairly cancelled by social media.
Know this: Cutaways is all about character. The pay off in Schwab’s one location setting is handled perfectly as everyone involved in this production brings their A-game to the script and, thanks to a wonderful chemistry, brings the hilarity and the humanity to the forefront as a ZERO budgeted porno becomes one director’s bread and butter.
Well, maybe.
Obviously, the first character we are introduced to is the disgraced director himself. Evan Quick (Silas Kade, making the character work with a quirky grace) was once promised greatness due to his directing abilities, but all that is gone and now, he awakens to a life of tedious nightmares. Something happened on the way to that appointed throne he was promised and now, confined to a warehouse-looking loft of sorts (which proves to be a great location), he shoots pornagraphic films for producer Sammy Slade (James Duval), who is keen to show off his new “discovery” - Trace Wicks (Jason Caceres) - and thrust him into the mix.
But Quick is far too talented for Slade and everybody knows it, including Andy Clive (Jose Fernando), a blue-haired actor who is being aged out of roles thanks to his child actor background and Ryan (Diogo Hausen), whose brains haven’t caught up to his looks . . . or his ambition, so when an outrageous complication threatens to stop the production of this insane online porno, Evan finds that - true to his personality - there literally is no line too crazy for him to cross.
Cutaways grabs its audience from the beginning and never lets them go. And its dialogue, delivered with quirky charm by its small cast, proves that Schwab is a master at crafting REAL characters. His keen eye and work offers boundary-breaking sequences for his immediately likeable characters and continues to hammer home LGBTQ+ themes with humanity and a clever sense of humor.
Everything in Cutaways works to create another passionate film full of promise, pulp, and all sorts of pride. The film will be screened at the 2025 SF Queer Film Festival as their “Centerpiece Film” on Saturday August 23rd. It is not to be missed once it begins streaming.
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 91 mins
Director: Mark Schwab
Writer: Mark Schwab
Cast: James Duval; Jacob Betts; Jason Caceres
Genre: Comedy
Tagline: How Far Does a DIrector Go to Get His Shot?
Memorable Movie Quote:
Distributor: Diamon in the Rough Films
Official Site:
Release Date: August 23, 2025
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date:
Synopsis: After being unfairly “cancelled” thru social media, Evan Quick (Silas Kade) - a promising Sundance Award-winning writer/director - now finds his career in tatters as he is forced to take a job directing a zero budget online porn film. Working with disgraced child actor Andy (Fernando) and Ryan (Diogo Hausen) whose opportunistic drive and physical attributes loom much larger than his intelligence, the shooting day gets behind schedule while his “producer” Sammy (James Duval) shows up with his distracting new arm charm Trace (Jason Caceres). When an outrageous complication threatens to stop production, Evan finds that there is no line too crazy for him to cross so he can finish the film.
