The Future Is Now!

The Future Is Now!

91 mins | June 24, 2011

A journalist (Liane Balaban) meets “Man of Today” (Paul Ahmarani) who, while a responsible citizen, is disengaged from greater society. He believes once he’s dead nothing more matters. As an experiment to see if she can turn his pessimistic view around, the journalist sends him on a journey of enlightenment to prove that the future does matter. Travelling the globe, he finds himself in surprising encounters with great minds in the arts and sciences. Starting with an unexpected poetry reading and conversation with experimental poet Christian Bök, Man of Today engages with architect Shigeru Ban, activist Francis Dupuis-Déri, philosopher Alain de Botton, artist Marlene Dumas, novelist Rivka Galchen, leading scientists and a ghost. Will the journalist succeed in turning a cynic into an optimist? Will it matter? What can one person do?

The Future Is Now!

91 mins | June 24, 2011

The Future Is Now!
A journalist (Liane Balaban) meets “Man of Today” (Paul Ahmarani) who, while a responsible citizen, is disengaged from greater society. He believes once he’s dead nothing more matters. As an experiment to see if she can turn his pessimistic view around, the journalist sends him on a journey of enlightenment to prove that the future does matter. Travelling the globe, he finds himself in surprising encounters with great minds in the arts and sciences. Starting with an unexpected poetry reading and conversation with experimental poet Christian Bök, Man of Today engages with architect Shigeru Ban, activist Francis Dupuis-Déri, philosopher Alain de Botton, artist Marlene Dumas, novelist Rivka Galchen, leading scientists and a ghost. Will the journalist succeed in turning a cynic into an optimist? Will it matter? What can one person do?
Producers Burns Film Ltd., National Film Board of Canada
Original title The Future Is Now!
Directors Gary Burns, Jim Brown
Writers Gary Burns, Jim Brown

Cast

Paul Ahmarani

as Man Of Today

Liane Balaban

as Woman Of Tomorrow

Alain de Botton

as The Philosopher

Shigeru Ban

as The Architect

Christian Bök

as The Poet

Marlene Dumas

as The Artist

Frances Dupuis-Déri

as The Anarchist

Rivka Galchen

as The Author

Richard Dawkins

as The Scientist

J. Craig Venter

as The Scientist

Jean-Paul Sartre

as The Existentialist

Dan Beirne

as Young Man

Elysa Chan

as Receptionist

Vanessa Matsui

as Grad Student Activist