The Future Is Now!

Christensen, David, (film producer.). Vercruysse, Shirley, (film producer.). Baptist, George, (film producer.). Thompson, Bonnie, (film producer.). Burns, Gary, (film director.). Brown, Jim, (film director.). National Film Board of Canada (Montreal), (film producer.). Burns Film Ltd. (Calgary), (film producer.).

Summary: In this entertaining film a journalist (Liane Balaban) meets "The 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. Traveling 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, "The 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?

Record details

Physical Description: 1 streaming video (91 min., 38 sec.) : sound
remote
access
Publisher: Montreal : National Film Board of Canada, 2012.
Copyright: ©2010

Content descriptions

General Note:	Agency - English program:.North West Centre. Agency:.Co-produced by Burns Film Ltd. and the National Film Board of Canada, with the participation of Telefilm Canada.
Restrictions on Access Note:	Available to subscribers only.
Creation/Production Credits Note:	Composer, John Abram ; editor, Paul Mortimer ; cinematographer, Patrick McLaughlin ; executive producer, David Christensen ; producer, Shirley Vercruysse, George Baptist, Bonnie Thompson ; writer, Gary Burns, Jim Brown ; director, Gary Burns, Jim Brown ; camera operator, Brian Shier ; sound recordist, Igal Petel ; key hair dresser, Anne-Louise Landry ; key makeup, Lizane LaSalle ; wardrobe, Jenna Wright ; key set decorator, Lyne Chénier, Alain Rouillier ; sound supervisor, Pat Butler ; foley artist, Cal Harle ; re-recording mixer, Patrick Butler.
Participant or Performer Note:	Cast, Paul Ahmarani, Liane Balaban, Shigeru Ban, Christian Bök, Alain de Botton, Marlene Dumas, Francis Dupuis Déri, Rivka Galchen, Richard Dawkins, Craig Venter, Jean Paul Sartre.
Date/Time and Place of an Event Note:	Recorded 2010.
Target Audience Note:	14-17.
System Details Note:	Mode of access: World Wide Web.
Source of Description Note:	Description based on online resource; title from title screen (National Film Board of Canada, viewed 2023-04-05).