We the Living
Alida Valli Fosco Giachetti Rossano Brazzi
Directed by
Goffredo Allesandrini
Based on the Novel by
Ayn Rand
See the all new We the Living
80th Anniversary Restoration!
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The Story
We the Living is based on Ayn Rand’s first novel and was drawn from her experiences in the turbulent years following the Russian Revolution.
It tells the story of Kira, a defiant young college student who meets a fugitive. The two fall in love and together embark on a fierce struggle to survive under a heartless, oppressive system. When a Soviet secret police agent also falls in love with Kira, the lives of all three intertwine and spiral toward disaster.
An epic story of the unconquerable in the human spirit, We the Living is at its core a blazing declaration of the right of every human being to live free.
We the Living
Alida Valli Fosco Giachetti Rossano Brazzi
Directed by Goffredo Allesandrini
Based on the Novel by Ayn Rand
See the all new We the Living 80th Anniversary Restoration!
For details, sign up for our free newsletter below.
Get the We the Living Newsletter
The Story
We the Living is based on Ayn Rand’s first novel and was drawn from her experiences in the turbulent years following the Russian Revolution.
It tells the story of Kira, a defiant young college student who meets a fugitive. The two fall in love and together embark on a fierce struggle to survive under a heartless, oppressive system. When a Soviet secret police agent also falls in love with Kira, the lives of all three intertwine and spiral toward disaster.
An epic story of the unconquerable in the human spirit, We the Living is at its core a blazing declaration of the right of every human being to live free.
Watch a preview!
The Backstory
We the Living was produced in Rome, Italy during World War II. It was based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Ayn Rand (The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged), and draws from actual conditions and events the author observed while growing up in the Soviet Union.
Rand had not authorized the film, and due to the war, had no knowledge of its production.
Cast in the film were Italian screen legends Alida Valli (The Third Man), Rossano Brazzi (South Pacific) and Fosco Giachetti (Brothers Karamazoff). It was directed by Goffredo Allesandrini.
Premiering at the Venice Film Festival in 1942, We the Living was hailed as a cinematic masterpiece. In theaters it was an immediate box office sensation and became the top-grossing film in Italy in 1942.
The powerful story captured the hearts of Italians and, unexpectedly, rallied resistance against the Fascist Party then in control of the country. However, the privations depicted in the movie were uncomfortably close to conditions in Italy, and within months of its premiere, the movie was banned and ordered destroyed by Dictator Benito Mussolini.
But at great risk, the filmmakers had the negatives secretly hidden away. When they were finally rediscovered decades later, Rand authorized the release of this version.
We the Living – the 80th Anniversary Restoration is the first-ever restoration of this film classic.
Two and a half years were devoted to removing dust, scratches, and other flaws from every frame of the movie. Once again, audiences will experience this beautiful film much as moviegoers saw it at the 1942 Venice Film Festival.
We the Living - 80th Anniversary Restoration
EVENTS
November 27, 2024 – Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria
American University
November 16, 2024 – Yerevan, Armenia
Special Event Screening
October 18, 2024 – Tbilisi, Georgia
Free University, Georgian subtitled ver. – Special Event
September 24, 2024 – Albuquerque, NM, USA
Guild Theater – Open to public.
August 3, 2024 – Chicago, IL, USA
Facets Theater – Open to public.
June 24, 2024 – Buenos Aires, Argentina
Sneak Preview of Spanish subtitled ver. – Private Event
May 11, 2024 – Reykjavík, Iceland
Smarabio Theater – Open to public.
Feb 03, 2024 – Skopje, Macedonia
Special event screening for Ayn Rand Center Europe
Dec 13, 2023 – London, England
Special event screening for Adam Smith Institute
November 9, 2023 – Charlotte, NC, USA
The Independent Picture House – Open to public.
September 2, 2023 – Kyiv, Ukraine
Charity event screening in support of Ukraine – Open to public.
August 17, 2023 – Madrid, Spain
Special event screening – Liberty International Conference.
June 15, 2023 – Belgrade, Serbia
European Premiere at the 25th Nitrate Film Festival – Open to public.
June 12, 2023 – New York, NY, USA
World Premiere at NYC’s Film Forum – Open to public.
March 4, 2023- Tbilisi, Georgia
Sneak Preview – Ayn Rand Center Georgia
February 20, 2023 – Laguna Beach, CA
Sneak Preview – Private
July 5, 2022 – Washington, DC, USA
Sneak Preview screening at OCON2022.
June 26, 2022 – Bologna, Italy
Pre-release festival screening at Il Cinema Ritrovato. Find out how We the Living can be seen in a city near you.
