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The Future Is Now!

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2010 1 h 31 min
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In this feature 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 …

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The Future Is Now!

Details

In this feature 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 even a ghost. Will the journalist succeed in turning a cynic into an optimist? Will it matter? What can one person do?

Film and Video Arts All subjects
  • 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
  • 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
  • additional cast
    Marty Antonini
    Daniel Beirne
    Pammi Brar
    Graham Cuthbertson
    Kyle Gatehouse
    Matt Holland
    Lois Holley
    Esther Huang
    Fanny Lacroix
    Faith Louissaint
    Daniel Rindress Kay
    Craig Thomas
    Jenna Wright
    Olivier L'Écuyer
    Mireille Tawfik
    Karl Fodor
    James Martin
    Spiro Malandrakis
    Vanessa Matsui
    Gabriel Vinuela
    Alex Lefaivre
    Mark Nelson
    Jerome Trecu
    Elysa Chan
    Peter Balkwill
    Peter Batakliev
    Liane Balaban
    John Treleaven
    Patrick Costello
    Kelie Jensen
    Rhonda Fisekci
  • camera operator
    Brian Shier
  • camera assistant
    Brian Shier
  • sound recordist
    Igal Petel
  • production accountant
    Leslie Maynes
  • line production
    Gilles Legaré
  • production manager
    Bruno Barrière
    Sue Bristow
    Mark Power
  • production coordinator
    Caroline Mireault
  • casting
    Lucie Robitaille
  • extras casting
    Carole Dionne
    Alyson Lockwood
  • script supervisor
    Catherine Veaux-Logeat
    Martine Létourneau
  • key gaffer
    Yves Arseneau
  • key grip
    Benoit Bureau
  • location manager
    Suzanne Laverdure
  • assistant location manager
    Ruth Arsenault
  • unit manager
    Martin Bouchard
  • unit assistant
    Louis Saulnier
    Charles Prud'homme
  • key hair dresser
    Anne-Louise Landry
  • key makeup
    Lizane LaSalle
  • wardrobe
    Jenna Wright
  • wardrobe assistant
    Cristina Acevedo
    Anya Taraboulsy
  • key set decorator
    Lyne Chénier
    Alain Rouillier
  • payroll clerk
    Darin Clausen
  • production assistant
    Faye Yoneda
    Kelly Fox
    Eva Colmers
  • post-production services
    Joe Media Group
  • visual effects services
    Jump Studios Ltd.
  • colourist
    Jeff August
  • digital intermediate supervisor
    Brock Roberts
  • visual effects supervisor
    Brian Vos
    Paige K. Bonnetta
  • visual effects producer
    Jeff August
  • visual effects artist
    Brock Roberts
    Shawn Wagar
    Paul Gardner
    David Sparrgrove
    Nathan Wieler
  • audio post services
    Twisted Pair Sound Ltd.
    Twisted Pair Productions Ltd.
  • sound supervisor
    Pat Butler
  • sound FX
    Arya Boustani
    Brent Planiden
  • BG editor
    Arya Boustani
    Brent Planiden
  • dialogue editor
    Patrick Butler
    Arya Boustani
  • ADR editor
    Patrick Butler
    Arya Boustani
  • foley artist
    Cal Harle
  • foley recordist
    David J. Taylor
  • foley mixer
    David J. Taylor
  • music transfer
    Brent Planiden
  • music editor
    Brent Planiden
  • re-recording mixer
    Patrick Butler
  • additional music
    David J. Taylor
  • Dolby printmaster
    Gavin Fernandes
  • Dolby sound consultant
    David Berti
  • insurance services
    Front Row Insurance Brokers Inc.
  • production financing
    HSBC
  • legal
    Juliet Smith
    Fraser Milner Casgrain
  • camera equipment provider
    Panavision Canada

Education

Ages 14 to 17
School subjects
Ethics and Religious Culture - Ethical Values History and Citizenship Education - Culture and Currents of Thought (1500-present)
Assign students to record interviews with members of their community based on the themes explored in the film. They should then edit the footage to create short films or an online archive of the interviews. Consider inviting a guest speaker to visit the class (or attend via video conference) to introduce the students to the subject of philosophy. Working individually or in groups, the students should generate lists of questions for both the interviews and the guest speaker.
The Future Is Now!
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