We Were Here (2011)

A deep and reflective look at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco and how individuals rose to the occasion during the first years of this unimaginable crisis.

Directors:

David Weissman, Bill Weber (co-director)

Stars:

Ed Wolf, Daniel Goldstein, Guy Clark

5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ed Wolf	...	Himself (as Ed) (as Ed Wolf)
Daniel Goldstein	...	Himself (as Daniel) (as Daniel Goldstein)
Guy Clark	...	Himself (as Guy) (as Guy Clark)
Eileen Glutzer	...	Herself (as Eileen) (as Eileen Glutzer)
Bobbi Campbell	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mervyn Silverman	...	Himself - S.F. Health Director (archive footage) (as Dr. Mervyn Silverman)
Jerry Falwell	...	Himself - The Moral Majority (archive footage) (as Rev. Jerry Falwell)
Cleve Jones	...	Himself (archive footage)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Boneberg	...	Himself

Storyline

'We Were Here' is the first film to take a deep and reflective look back at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco, and how the City's inhabitants dealt with that unprecedented calamity. It explores what was not so easy to discern in the midst of it all - the parallel histories of suffering and loss, and of community coalescence and empowerment. Though this is a San Francisco based story, the issues it addresses extend not only beyond San Francisco but also beyond AIDS itself. 'We Were Here' speaks to our societal relationship to death and illness, our capacity as individuals to rise to the occasion, and the importance of community in addressing unimaginable crises.

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Plot Keywords:

gay | aids | empowerment | illness | death | 

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Taglines:

The AIDS Years in San Francisco

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography | History | News

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

RedFlagReleasing.com Official distributor. [United States] WeWereHereFilm.com Official producers site for the film. [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

September 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bili smo ovde

Filming Locations:

San Francisco Federal Building, 90 7th Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Weissman Projects

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bobbi Campbell was known as the first person to publicly admit being infected with AIDS, although at that time, it was being referred to as the "mysterious gay cancer".

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Crazy Credits

Between 1994 and 1997, the number of yearly AIDS deaths in San Francisco declined from 1592 to 422.

By that point, 15,548 San Franciscans had died in the epidemic.

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Connections

References Casablanca (1942)

User Reviews

Tragic but Excellent

I was 18 years old when I went to Greenwich Village in 1985 to attend school at NYU. Before that, I had never been acquainted with the gay community and only knew closeted and frustrated gay people. My eyes were opened when I got there, in a wonderful way. But AIDS had beat me there and I remember the profound fear and controversy that was unfolding at the time.

This movie made me think of those days like I hadn't for years. It is an incredible, moving story which shows how much of a Holocaust the epidemic was. It is heartbreaking and poignant, with personal stories and compassion shown by the individuals involved which are heroic and inspiring.

I found this movie to be an important contribution to a period of American History that musn't be forgotten. I found myself shocked all over again by how widespread and devastating the epidemic was, how it was ignored and feared by a homophobic nation. I wonder how different our world might be today if we hadn't lost so many wonderful, creative young people to this plague?

AIDS survival has come a long way, but the disease is not gone. People really should rent this movie, it's like lighting a memorial candle of sorts. You will remember someone who is gone that touched your life in a special way.