WE LIVED

In a future where humanity vanishes before turning thirty, five friends find peace in a crumbling world—until they must choose between holding on to each other or letting go forever.

The original concept for this script was developed over a decade ago, in a college creative writing class. I wanted to address this idea of what would be important to me, what would have meaning, if my future was suddenly taken? When all of the idealistic goals of our society – children, professional accomplishment, retirement - were suddenly stripped away, how would I react? How would others? What would we allow ourselves to consider in this “new normal” that in the real world, might be considered insanity?

This story is ultimately about those questions, and how we could attempt to answer them.

The setting of this story is post-apocalyptic, but unlike many other films in that genre, there will be no cannibals, no thunderdomes, no fighting over gasoline in a desert landscape. While inspired by post-apocalyptic films, this is an attempt to give that type of film an original spin: in a world suddenly bereft of most of the population, much has been left behind and there is plenty for all. The struggle here isn't over food, or water, or power: instead, it is a struggle for the most precious resource of all – time. This backdrop allows for drama and suspense unattainable in our own world, while feeling only a step or two distanced from reality.

The focus in this film will be on character – primarily, the five leads, a found family in a time of uncomfortable truths. Barring an accident, or intent from another, they know they will die from a virus that lives on in their body like a time bomb, waiting to detonate. They are everything to each other, just as for many of us, personal relationships help create our own sense of self and happiness. It is our hope that the struggles of the characters in this film, while placed against a fantastical back-ground, will be recognized and reflect within the viewers. We hope they walk away from this film asking questions they never considered, and thus discover something new about themselves.

-Jason Orr

We’ve crafted a powerful, atmospheric proof-of-concept that captures the tone, world, and emotional core of We Lived—a haunting, post-apocalyptic story of loss, survival, and hope.

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