Life Begins Tomorrow

Documentary filmmaker Védrès' first semi-fictional feature was released in France in 1949 as La Vie Commence Demain. The film made it to the U.S. in 1952 as Life Begins Tomorrow. Made in cooperation with UNESCO, the film speculates on the future of mankind after the advent of Atomic Energy. Many prominent French artists and intellects contribute to the narration: Jean-Pierre Aumont plays The Man of Today, Andre Labarthe is the Man of Tomorrow, and Jean-Paul Sartre, Daniel Agache, Jean Rostand, Le Corbusier, Pablo Picasso and Andre Gide are respectively seen as "The Existentialist," "The Psychiatrist,' "The Biologist," "The Architect," "The Artist" and "The Author". Film clips of hospitals, schoolrooms, scientific laboratories, and even nightclubs are woven into Védrès' fascinating tapestry.

Documentary Drama

Pablo Picasso

(Self)

Jean-Pierre Aumont

(The Man of Today)

Jean-Paul Sartre

(Self)

Charles-Édouard Jeanneret-Gris

(Self)

Frédéric Joliot-Curie

(Self)

Darius Milhaud

(Self)

Charlie Chaplin

(Self (archive footage))

Albert Einstein

(Self (archive footage))

Franklin D. Roosevelt

(Self (archive footage))

George Bernard Shaw

(Self (archive footage))

Marie Curie

(Self (archive footage))

Joseph Stalin

(Self (archive footage))

Jacques Prévert

(Self (uncredited))

Jean Cau

(Self - Sartre's secretary (uncredited))

Françoise Gilot

(Self - Picasso's companion (uncredited))

André Gide

(Self)

Jean Rostand

(Self)

André Labarthe

(Self)

Daniel Lagache

(Self)

Irène Joliot-Curie

(Self (archive footage))

Marcel Petiot

(Self (archive footage))