Character Relationship Map: We Were Here

Characters

• Self (played by Ed Wolf) — protagonist

  A medical worker whose perspective contributes to the film's portrayal of caregiving, severe illness, and the effort to treat people respectfully during the epidemic. Her testimony stands alongside th...

• Self (played by Paul Boneberg) — supporting
• Self (played by Daniel Goldstein) — supporting
• Self (played by Guy Clark) — supporting
• Self (played by Eileen Glutzer) — supporting

Story Analysis

The documentary traces how San Francisco's queer community endured AIDS through grief, caregiving, activism, remembrance, and the decision to survive.

Plot Progression

1. A Community Under Threat — The documentary introduces AIDS as a disaster confronting San Francisco's queer community. People describe finding chosen family, mutual support, and a shared sense of wartime uncertainty.
2. The Disease Takes Shape — Recollections of late-1970s San Francisco lead to frightening images of lesions and the emergence of Kaposi's sarcoma. Personal diagnoses make the epidemic immediate and terrifying.
3. Everyday Mourning — As deaths multiply, obituaries become a record of communal loss. A florist helps families create dignified funerals while becoming overwhelmed by the number of ceremonies.
4. Medicine And Remembrance — Patients and medical workers confront blindness, CMV retinitis, and debilitating treatments. Eye donation and respectful collection connect medical research with intimate mourning.
5. Choosing To Survive — Public fear and quarantine demands contrast with the care maintained by partners and caregivers. After a sudden death and profound despair, survival becomes an act of remembrance and collective resili...