"We Were Here"

I just came back from seeing the documentary We Were Here at the Castro Theater.

Here is the description from the film's website:

We Were Here is the first documentary to take a deep and reflective look back at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco. It explores how the City’s inhabitants were affected by, and how they responded to, that calamitous epidemic.

Though a San Francisco-based story, We Were Here extends beyond San Francisco and beyond AIDS itself. It speaks to our capacity as individuals to rise to the occasion, and to the incredible power of a community coming together with love, compassion, and determination.

What a powerful, important film. I'm so happy that I had a chance to see it, and especially grateful to have seen it at the Castro Theater. My friend, Mike and I went to the 2:00 matinee showing today - the only matinee during the week. We met at the theater 30 minutes before showtime, and I'm so glad we did, as it turned out to be quite a packed house (at 2:30pm on a Wednesday afternoon!).

One of my favorite parts of our experience today was learning that an entire class from a high school in the East Bay was there seeing it with us today. One of the purposes of this documentary is to educate the younger generations about the history of HIV/AIDS, as most young people today (thankfully) did not have to live through the epidemic. They may not realize how devastating it was, and even more importantly, do not realize that the threat of HIV/AIDS is still a large problem today and that a terribly large number of people are still being infected. We must still remain informed, educated and proactive in the fight against AIDS.

Another interested part of today's experience was having the opportunity to participate in the Q&A with the film's directors after the show.

We Were Here will be showing at the Castro Theater only through tomorrow, Thursday, March 3rd. The director said it will be showing at various Film Festivals throughout the country over the next several months. If you have an opportunity to see this film, I highly recommend it.

WE WERE HERE (trailer) from David Weissman on Vimeo.

Here's a great review from sfgate.com:
'We Were Here' review: AIDS' horrific early years.