“1981 was a big year.  That is when everything changed”

October is Gay History Month and 2011 marks 30 years since the mysterious “gay cancer” otherwise known as AIDS was first reported in the gay community.

Director David Weissman brings us “We Are Here:  The AIDS Years In San Francisco” which revisits the voices and the history of a lost generation by following five subjects—a florist, a nurse, an artist, an activist and a volunteer counselor—who share their stories of being in the throes of a catastrophe that the film aptly refers to as a “war zone.”

It’s impossible for a single film to capture the gay history of the late 70’s and early 80’s and the devastation brought  by AIDS,  but Weissman’s documentary is a powerful  historical achievement, focusing on the arrival, explosion and devastation of AIDS in San Francisco.

Using archive footage, home movies, and the AIDS generation survivors memories it makes a powerful statement of  historical rootedness the gay community and offers a intergenerational understanding of both personal queer history as well as political history of that lost generation.  There is not a hint of mawkishness, self-pity or self-congratulation. and armed with just their voices, wit, humor and memories, the film’s interviewees bring light, wisdom, and heartbreak with their stories of a time and a generation that must be remembered.

A DEFINATE MUST SEE!

We Were Here is now playing in limited release at select theaters . Check your local theatre listing or go to WeWereHereFilm.com  for and upcoming release dates and locations