dpv_en

funded by

development funds by

Straight to VHS

Written & directed by Emilio Silva Torres

Synopsis

“Act of Violence in a Young Journalist” is a film shot and released on VHS in 1989. A mysterious cult work of Uruguayan cinema surrounded by strange theories about its creator, Manuel Lamas, about whom nothing is known.

The documentary sets out to unveil the enigma that exists about Lamas and his work, chasing the traces of a ghost through his lost VHS cassettes. Along the way, the director becomes involved in a spiral that dissolves the boundaries between reality and fiction.

Original title: Country: Uruguay, Argentina. Language: Español Production year: 2021 Length: 76 minutes

Cast: Alfonso Tort, Roxana Blanco.

Cinematographer Juan Alvarez Neme Sound Design Daniel Yafalián Original Music Maximiliano Silvera Art Direction Inés Carriquiry Line Producer Virginia Chappe Edition Juan Alvarez Neme Executive Producer Virginia Bogliolo Producers Virginia Bogliolo & Juan Alvarez Neme

Festivals & prizes

BAFICI 2021 FIPRESCI Best film. American competition

Atlantidoc 2021 Best ópera prima

Film Maudit 2.0 2022 Cocteau award

NOX FF 2022 Best documentary mention

Fantasia IFF 2021

Fractured Visions FF 2021

Filmar en America Latina 2021

SITGES 2021

SLASH Fantastic FF 2021

Molins de Rei Horror Film Festival 2021

MOTELX - Lisbon International Horror Film Festival 2021

Abertoir Horror Festival 2021

Int. Documentary and Short FF of Kerala 2021

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2022

“At that disconcerting moment, Straight to VHS abandons its original status and manages to make a qualitative leap towards another order. And what at some point seemed like a nice tribute to a bad movie also turns into a twist on the forms of documentary, on fanaticism and on the ability of cinema to think about itself.“