The Paranoids is a recent film introduced into theaters on January 22, 2010. Over a year later, on April 12, 2011, the DVD will be released to retailers nationwide. Running at 104 minutes, The Paranoids is directed by Gabriel Medina and stars Daniel Hendler, Jazmin Stuart, Walter Jakob, Martin Feldman, and Miguel Dedovish. Released by Oscilloscope pictures, this film is a comedy and has not yet been rated.
The plot of The Paranoids introduces Luciano, played by Hendler, who is an anxious and anal entertainer, also struggling to start a career as a popular screenwriter. He constantly worries about his personal health and appears to be a loser at the start of the film. When Luciano accidentally puts his stage partner, Sherman, played by Feldman, in the hospital, he is forced to stop performing for weeks at a time. When an old friend comes in from out of town, Manuel, played by Jakob, Luciano is renewed with hope. Manuel is the star of a famous television series, dating a beautiful girl, Sophia, played by Stuart, and is an all-around impressive character.
Luciano recruits Manuel to help him get back on track, and finds himself faced with an unpleasant truth; while Manuel has helped to find work with a writing assignment, it becomes more and more obvious that he is only helping out of obligation, and not out of a true belief in Luciano's talents. When Manuel is then forced to leave for a little while due to business, Sophia is left with Luciano, who she finds quite charming. Luciano is then faced with a few moral dilemmas that offer a complicated film about ambition, betrayal, and opportunity.
The Paranoids takes place in Argentina and was entered into the 2008 Buenos Aires Film Festival. The film has also been nominated for awards at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2009, as well as similar events held in the San Francisco and Toronto areas, held in 2009 and 2008, respectively. While the film has been praised for its subtle wit and cinematic style, the film fails to reach large audiences. With the release of the DVD, distributors are hoping to make the film available to a wider audience, as it is deliciously offbeat and worth viewing. The Paranoids has been incredibly undersold, and those who view it will agree that just because a film is not widely popular, doesn't mean it has nothing to offer. The DVD will include a number of bonus features designed to give the audience a behind-the-scenes peek at the development of the film. There will also be featured commentary and additional footage not previously available to the public.