Thesis

'Thesis' is a Spanish mystery thriller written and directed by Alejandro Amenábar in what is his debut feature. The film, produced by Sogecine, premiered in theaters in April 1996 and achieved notable success with both audiences and critics, winning seven Goya Awards, including Best Film, Best New Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best New Actor.

Ángela is a young woman studying Image and Sound at the Complutense University of Madrid. While preparing a doctoral thesis on audiovisual violence, she seeks help from a classmate, Chema, who is also interested in gore cinema. Her thesis advisor, Figueroa, also promises to help her find violent material in the university's video library.

A few days later, Ángela finds Figueroa dead in the screening room after suffering a heart attack while watching one of the tapes he had searched for her. Ángela and Chema watch the tape, a snuff movie that contains the crime of a student from the faculty who disappeared a few years ago. Following the trail of her disappearance, they encounter Bosco, a handsome student from the same faculty who was a friend of the victim and uses the same camera that was used to record the snuff movie...

Filmed during Amenábar's final year at the Faculty of Information Sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid where he studied, thanks to the help of José Luis Cuerda, a producer who secured funding for the shoot. 'Thesis' stars Ana Torrent, Eduardo Noriega, and Fele Martínez, marking the first feature film for the latter two.