PRODUCTION BACKGROUND

The destructiveness at the heart of close relationships has been a recurring theme in Daniel Azarian's work. His previous film, Fallout of the Nuclear Family, concerned the breakdown of personal ties within a prototypical suburban family. In SOCIOPATH, he turns his attention to friendship, and the idea of an alliance so intense that it devastates everyone involved. "I see love and destruction as natural counterparts. When you have enough passion to love someone, that passion can turn to hate very easily," Azarian comments. "The main character of Alex in SOCIOPATH is doing a lot of things he knows are irrational, but he cannot control himself because of the obsessive reality his emotions have created for himself."

Joining Azarian in the production of SOCIOPATH was producer Alexa Coppola, who came on board to produce the teaser based on Azarian's passion for the material. "With SOCIOPATH, Dan really set out to reveal how our deepest desires and unfulfilled dreams can drive anyone to the point of destruction." According to Coppola, "We very much want the audience to relate to the character of Alex and see that, because of this overwhelming need to establish an identity, he allows himself to be completely and profoundly manipulated."

The teaser for SOCIOPATH was shot on location at Manhattan's hip Restaurant 147. 147's owner, Cliff Williams, is a benefactor of the arts, and has been a long-time sponsor of the NY-based Coven of the Arts film festival, which has frequently used Restaurant 147 for its events. When Azarian approached Williams about being part of the production, his response was enthusiastic and immediate. "Daniel was incredibly organized, and had the whole thing mapped out. In conjunction with his strong vision he conveyed to me, I wanted 147 to be a part of this film, " Williams comments. Azarian adds, "Cliff converted Restaurant 147 from what was once a firehouse into something very unique and ultra-trendy. It was the perfect space to show the nightlife world the character of Matthew dwells in."

From its initial stages, Azarian had foreseen the film's music as being an essential component in establishing the moody atmosphere of SOCIOPATH. To that end, he was thrilled to secure New York ambient/trance artist Jinsoo Kim to compose the film's score. The two were introduced by Natasha Borg, the actress playing Valerie, who discovered Kim while in England working on a film. She phoned Azarian overseas, and told him she just heard an amazing demo CD that she thought would be perfect for SOCIOPATH. In a stroke of luck, Azarian managed to track Jinsoo Kim down in New York City, where he was performing at Baby Jupiter in the East Village. After screening the scene, Kim asked Azarian for two weeks to put together some rough ideas for the soundtrack. "(What he came up with…) for Matthew's Theme was the perfect blend of sleaze and style that I needed to portray the underworld club scene, " cited Azarian. Kim has already begun sketching out ideas for the feature version of SOCIOPATH.