In the 70s San Francisco’s Castro was a dream come true for gay and lesbian Americans. It’s epitomised freedom of sex, love, association, style and action that so many had been searching for. Then, in the 80s people started dying of a mysterious disease. We Were Here is a highly personal, no-frills account of how a debilitating illness, that was eventually labelled AIDS, devastated this free-wheeling neighbourhood and mobilised it into a supportive, caring community of activists. Straightforward testimonies come from five Castro residents: a visual artist, a nurse, a flower seller, a shy Shanti carer and an activist. Each one lost friends, lovers and partners during the first few years. The forceful combination of personal accounts from the survivors, including their own photographs, additional archive footage, and contemporary news coverage of the spread of the “gay plague”, tells a haunting, yet positive and important story. Simply, it recounts how the initial terror, loss, confusion, and the ensuing paranoia were gradually supplanted by systematic research, selfless humanity and a renewed sense of community.