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.

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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 Livingthe 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

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.

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