One of the pleasures of the Filmfest DC is seeing films that one might not ordinarily have the opportunity to see, due to lack of distribution or not being picked up by a studio or distributor who would have the means to book the film into various theatres throughout the States.
I saw one last night that may or may not find a distributor later this year and that would be a shame because the film, a documentary by David Weissman about the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco, called WE WERE HERE,
deserves to be seen by a large audience. Hopefully it will be picked up by one of the premium cable networks or PBS and telecast later this year.
The film traces the AIDS epidemic in SF very early on and does so mainly thru interviews with 5 members of the gay community who were intimately involved either as caregivers or active observers of the catastrophe that transpired over several years in the city by the bay.
One of those interviewed, a lesbian nurse who worked in the one AIDS ward at SF Memorial Hospital and was cofounder of the first Free Woman's Clinic in SF, was especially eloquent and moving, but so were the other 4 men, one an artist, who lost not one but 2 partners to AIDS; another who had a flower stand in Castro and provided, usually gratis, flowers for funerals and memorial services for so many young men who succumbed to the disease; and another who became a Shanti volunteer early on in the epidemic.
Despite the gravitas of the film - Weissman artfully uses a good deal of archival pictures and film - there are moments of great tenderness and humor along with pathos and deep sadness. Of course, I shed several tears throughout the film, but I left the theatre with a great sense of pride over being one of the survivors and a caregiver to several of my close friends who I lost to AIDS in Los Angeles years ago.
And I felt a great sense of pride as well as a member of the gay community at large that rose to the occasion and were there to care for thousands of young men who suffered and died from AIDS.
If only President Reagan and Congress had responded in kind and earmarked funds for AIDS research during the early stages of this horrendous siege that took the lives of over 20,000 men in SF alone, some of my dear friends I lost would still be alive.
If and when this fine documentary becomes available in theatres or on DVD, make every effort to see it.
