Mak Schwab is a writer and director whose latest film is called Crisis Hotline, an LGBT story about love, loss and more. We had the chance to ask him a few questions about the movie. Here’s what he had to say.
Hello Mark. Let’s begin with where it all began. Where do you come from?
Mark Schwab: San Jose, CA. Born and raised.
And how’s the filmmaking community there?
MS: Growing slowly I think. There are short films being made here and there but almost no features. It’s much harder to be a filmmaker in the Bay Area than you’d expect. You think technology, you think money, etc. But everyone is very focused on just paying their rent and mortgage due to the housing costs here. That means making a movie becomes a low priority. I know a lot of people who would LOVE to be making movies but you can’t schedule them. There is a solid amount of corporate video work but that is a different beast from creative moviemaking.
Your new film is Crisis Hotline. Was it shot there?
MS: Yes, we shot the entire film in San Jose. I brought up the entire crew (and most of the cast) from Los Angeles though.
READ MORE: Our Full Review of Mark Schwab‘s Crisis Hotline
The film has a very hot-button story – is it all yours?
MS: Thank you. I take “hot-button” as a compliment. Yes, I wrote the script from scratch on my own.
Is this based on real life?
MS: Nothing [here] is ripped from real life, thank goodness.
Is this a personal story for you?
MS: It’s personal only in that I’m a member of the LGBT community and I’d like to add a voice to the horror/thriller genre. There are small moments in Crisis Hotline that reflect personality aspects of people I’ve known but nothing is ripped from real life thank goodness.
So tell me what the pitch was you gave to your investors? What sold them?
MS: The screenplay was easily the biggest selling point. The Crisis Hotline script didn’t just attract investors, it attracted key people across the board from our excellent Director of Photography (Dante Yore) to our dedicated and talented cast.
What do you love most about making movies?
MS: I love the tremendous creative challenge in making feature films. With so many moving parts and so much work that’s required, it’s a miracle when you actually complete one. But I love every step of the process from blank page to exported deliverables. I think you have to love it all since you’re going to spend the better part of an entire year making it.
What kind of feedback are you expecting from the masses?
MS: I feel great about the finished version of Crisis Hotline. I’m confident that people will be intrigued and absorbed in the story. But it’s also a little bit of an unknown since Crisis Hotline is so different from other films of its type. I guarantee “the masses” haven’t seen anything quite like it so part of me is expecting they’ll want to watch it again.
Crisis Hotline arrives on digital and DVD June 11.