“When I asked them what he died of, they replied of sadness. That answer contradicted all my memories of him”, confesses film-maker Renate Costa about the death of her uncle Rodolfo - an uncle who wanted to be a dancer, rather than a blacksmith like her grandfather. Cuchillo de Palo (‘wooden knife’, i.e. useless person or object) is Costa’s personal quest for the silenced history of Paraguay and the hidden meanings of number 108. Through carefully conducted interviews, the film-maker pieces together a violent story that goes back to Alfredo Stroessner’s dictatorship in 1980s Paraguay, when homosexuals were persecuted, imprisoned and tortured for their lifestyle. (Adina Brădeanu)
Opinii despre film din presa internationala: Variety
AUDIO: Spanish
SUBTITLE: English, Romanian
awards and festivals
Zinegoak Bilabao (Spain) 2011
Viennale (Austria) 2010
Göteborg International Film Festival (Sweden) 2011
Vancouver Film Festival, VIFF (Canada) 2010
Docs Barcelona (Spain) 2011
Two Riverside Film Festival (Poland) 2010
IF Istambul Film Festival (Turkey) 2011
Bergen International Film Festival (Norway) 2010
Black Movie Geneva Film Festival (Switzerland) 2011
Miradas Doc, Canarias (Spain) 2010
Muestra de Cine Realizado por Mujeres de Zaragoza y Huesca (Spain) 2011
CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (Denmark) 2010
San Diego Latino Film Festival (USA) March 2011
IDFA Amsterdam (Holland) 2010.
Documenta Madrid, Panorama Nacional (Spain) 2010
Festival International du Film de Belfort (France) 2010.
Festival de Cannes, ACID Selection (France) 2010
5ª Mostra de Cinema e Direitos Humanos na América do Sul (Brasil) 2010.
Espoo Ciné International Festival (Finland) 2010
Spanish and Belgian Fiction and Documentary Films, BOZAR, Palais des Beaux Arts de
États Généraux du Film Documentaire. Lussas (France) 2010
Bruxelles (Belgium) 2010
Latin Beat Film Festival, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, New York (USA) 2010.