We Were Here

why wasn’t this movie nominated for an Oscar?!?! It doesn’t get any more moving and personal than that. We easily forget of the suffering and extraordinary hardship and loss we went through. Yes, we. All of us - and this extraordinary documentary reminds of the people's compassion and struggle to fight the AIDS epidemic. They were there from the beginning and their stories are so beautifully captured here.

Very moving story about the innate capacity for humans to be compassionate in the face of catastrophe. Everyone of these people showe amazing courage and compassion to address this tital wave of disease. I struggle to imagine how many of these type of people would be around if the disease had affected just women, just african americans. Watch it!

This important film is so exquisitely directed and edited that it becomes possible to watch a film about such a painful time without feeling crushed. It is a joy to watch the handful of interviewees at the epicentre of the epidemic and around whom this story evolves as they reveal how they went through those times with such dignity and strength. While you know the story will reach a heart of darkness at its centre, you are held so perfectly and gently by these beautiful, brave people there that you know they will take you out the other side. And they do. As the epidemic is finally pushed back, as we see people we now are so much about reach a victory of their own, the film gives us upliftment and hope, and helps us realise our dignity as people. This is essential viewing, both for those who were there, those who remember those times, and those for whom it is an unknown history - especially those. Expect to be sad and even cry a few times, but don't let that put you off. This is not a depressing or maudlin film, it is a film about courage, love, hope, dignity and ultimately victory. (And I must say it somewhere so I'll say it here: deep honour and love to the interviewees in this film - thank you so much for being you, you are amazing.)

This was an incredibly informative piece. It was as moving a documentary as I have seen in a long time. Not being a part of the GLBT community I was ignorant as to the timing of how early the HIV virus invaded the SF area. 1976 wow!!! This pic clearly speaks to the fortitude and dignity of this community and the struggle they overcame together... Outstanding!

Great theme, unfortunately executed in a very boring, shallow way ...

For those of us who lived during this era, the film brings back memories of how frightened people were, both in the gay community and in general. Arguments were made on national television that homosexuals and drug addicts should have their forearms and buttocks tattooed, and/or be shipped to an isolated island. Religious representatives said AIDS was an act of God as punishment. The Federal government sat idle, refusing to fund research for a cure. Hospice houses specific to those dying of AIDS had to fight to find a location, because neighborhoods tried to ban them. Insurance companies were denying coverage to single men based on their zip code, because it was a "gay neighborhood." Imagine all that, and then imagine it was cancer or leukemia, and how outrageous it seems. This film shows the strength and courage of ordinary people who came together to support each other and advocate for themselves and/or their loved ones. A very important documentary that stands alongside "Milk" as a chronicle of our times.

This documentary is best told though the eyes of those who were first hand suvivors, rescuers, and supporters through the 80's and 90's when HIV/AIDS took a fraction of San Francisco's Gay Population alone. I would encourage ALL types - gay, straight, black, white and others - to watch this film that is well done and moving. History serves to teach those in the future and knowledge is power. This documentary is done through first-person narrative and interviews of mostly a handful of those who were on the front lines. You might think that a story told only through a few might be boring, but this is a story told very well by a few who knew so many that were lost to them forever. You might think that a sad story would be awful to watch. However, the lives of so many young men and their stories are an inspiration and shouldn't fall on deaf ears. While this documentary is done in a bold face way, not to diminish the impact that HIV/AIDS had, it also brings the story to the present, and in a way that can be deeply moving and uplifting. This story should stand in the face of the current generations of LGBTQ - we were there for each other once and we will be until the end. This is our history and it's also our future. One equality = one future = one marriage.

Just beautiful - a moving, thoughtful reflection on the onset of the HIV/Aids epidemic that took the lives of so many lovely people, along with the stories of those who survived. Watch it!

A nice history of that small area of the world for a short period of time.

I've always wondered what it was like in the early days of AIDS. Great stories and well done! I'd love to see a sequel about NY in the 80s.