Independent Lens Season 13 Episode 26 We Were Here

We Were Here is an emotionally stirring installment of the Independent Lens series, an award-winning documentary television program that airs on PBS. It tells the story of the onset and impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in San Francisco in the early 1980s through the lenses of five different people who lived through it. We Were Here is directed and produced by David Weissman and Bill Weber, who use archival footage and contemporary interviews with survivors to draw a poignant picture of a time when the world struggled to come to grips with the gravity and devastation of the disease.

The episode begins with archival footage of the parade on Castro Street in San Francisco. As a city, San Francisco had long been a beacon of acceptance and freedom, particularly for the LGBTQI+ community. But this is just before the AIDS epidemic emerged in the early 1980s, when people began dying from a mysterious virus that not only devastated the body but also devastated San Francisco's tight-knit social circles.

The episode focuses on the personal stories of several people who lived through the epidemic. The first person interviewed is subject to this episode, Ed Wolf, who moved to San Francisco in 1971. He talks about the close-knit community that made up San Francisco, how everyone knew everyone else, and how it was particularly welcoming to gay people. But that changed forever when AIDS arrived. Ed talks about how everything around him went from being upbeat and lively to becoming fearful and uncertain, punctuated by unhappy powerlessness.

Interviews with HIV/AIDS survivors follow, including Daniel Goldstein, Eileen Glutzer, Guy Clark, and Paul Boneberg. Each one discusses their personal experiences of being diagnosed with HIV and the impact of the disease on their lives. Some of them speak of the intense isolation they felt from their friends, families, and communities because of the stigma attached to HIV. They were forced to navigate the disease on their own and to make sense of the constellation of symptoms and side-effects that accompanied it.

The documentary also covers the heroic efforts of a number of support organizations that sprang up in San Francisco to help patients through the epidemic. These organizations provided essential services such as counseling, medical assistance, meal deliveries, and home care, which were utterly vital for the time when there was no treatment and no hope at all. Their contributions were instrumental in raising awareness about the disease, breaking the stigma, and advocating for research and policy change that would eventually lead to more effective treatments.

The episode closes with footage of a row of illuminated lanterns, part of the NAMES project, a nationwide memorial to those who have lost their lives to HIV/AIDS. The project is made up of thousands of individual squares, each displaying a name and designed by the loved ones who are left behind. The vibrant colors and powerful design are a testament to the lives that were cut short and to the tremendous loss and grief that the epidemic wrought on survivors and society as a whole.

We Were Here is a moving and thought-provoking episode of Independent Lens, combining stark honesty, personal testimonies, and archival footage to give a voice to a generation that was so tragically affected by the epidemic. The documentary reminds us of the importance of community, solidarity, and compassion and the power of these human elements to brave even the darkest of times. We Were Here is an episode that will stay with the viewer long after the credits roll, and it is highly recommended viewing for anyone interested in social justice, human rights, and the power of documentary storytelling.