The Future Is Now! (2011)
A journalist meets “Man of Today” 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?
Directors: Jim Brown, Gary Burns.
![]() |
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 |
| Directing | Jim Brown | Director |
| Directing | Gary Burns | Director |
| Writing | Jim Brown | Writer |
| Writing | Gary Burns | Writer |
| Production | George Baptist | Producer |
| Production | Bonnie Thompson | Producer |
| Production | Shirley Vercruysse | Producer |
| Sound | John Abram | Original Music Composer |
| Camera | Patrick McLaughlin | Director of Photography |
| Editing | Paul Mortimer | Editor |
| Production | Rhonda Fisekci | Casting |
| Costume & Make-Up | Jenna Wright | Costume Design |
| Costume & Make-Up | Lizane La Salle | Makeup Artist |