06/04/2023 - Based on Birgitte Lorentzen's book of the same name, the new feature is toplined by Danish rising stars Zoe Bryan Hertz and August Issac Carter

Actors Zoe Bryan Hertz and August Issac Carter (© Kavian Borhani)

Last week, SF Studios announced that Kari Vidø's supernatural thriller Paranoia had entered production. Vidø is best known for her work as a screenwriter and director on several TV series, such as The Team (2018), Store drømme (2009) and 2900 Happiness (2007).

Based on Birgitte Lorentzen's book of the same name and penned by the writer herself together with Henrik Kristensen, Paranoia is toplined by Danish rising stars Zoe Bryan Hertz (the series Salsa and Boys) and August Issac Carter (Land of Mine [+see also:
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interview: Louis Hofmann
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film profile], the series Hooligan and Equinox). Other main cast members include Maria Rossing, Rasmus Hammerich, Stran Ezgi Benli and Oliver Due.

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Paranoia is based on the first book in a trilogy, which has garnered great international recognition and was the first Danish novel to be nominated for the French book prize “Le Prix des Incorruptibles”. According to the official press release published by SF Studios, the feature is “a dark and intense story about Lulu and Mads, who have both experienced something strongly supernatural. […] The meeting between them leads to a wild and risky search for answers with consequences for both of them. Raw realism merges with a supernatural universe,” the press release continues.

The picture is being filmed in Copenhagen and Frederiksberg. Principal photography will wrap at the beginning of May.

Paranoia is being produced by SF Studios (Julie Rix Bomholt and Mia Elvstrøm Myrälf) in co-production with Finland’s Aleksi Hyvärinen, of Don Films, and with support from the Danish Film Institute through film consultant Lotte Svendsen, the Finnish Film Foundation, the Nordisk Film & TV Fond and TV2 Denmark.

Commenting on the project, Rix Bomholt said: “It is incredibly exciting and unique to have the opportunity to work with a purely genre film, which at the same time touches on an important and current theme. Zoe and August are Lulu and Mads, and we are thrilled to have found two such talented young actors. They have a very special presence and a mutual intensity that almost sparks. We are so looking forward to seeing their talent unfold on camera and on the big screen.”

The film is being distributed by SF Studios in the Nordic countries, with REinvent in charge of its international sales. It is expected to premiere in Danish cinemas in March 2024, which will be followed by an international release.