108

You won't often come across the house number 108 in Paraguay. "108" is a derogatory term that stems from the days of dictator Alfred Stroessner's witch hunt against homosexuals and others. The first blacklist of homosexuals numbered 108 names, and the name of Rodolfo, one of filmmaker Renate Costa's uncles, appeared on just such a list. She can still recall the day her uncle was found dead in his room. The death was surrounded with a great deal of secrecy in the family, and her father still seems discomfited by the whole affair. Rodolfo was the black sheep, the one who wanted to be a dancer rather than a blacksmith like his brothers. Costa's father, now divorced, still wonders despairingly why Rodolfo hung around with "all those gays." Costa wanted to find out just who her artistic uncle was. She visits his old friends, meets an emotional transvestite, uncovers the notorious lists in the archives, and hears tales of persecution and torture. Costa herself is very much present in this personal quest, a sensitive and intimate film portrait that is also an attempt to reestablish contact with her father.