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2008

international competition

Sleep Dealer

Rivera Alex

United States, Mexico, 2008, 90', Swiss Premiere

The movie

Mexico City, in the near future : the country’s borders are controlled from the air, and international corporations own the water supplies. Relying upon cheap labor, they hire jobless Mexicans to work in relocated factories from which they operate robots working far away on American building sites. Three young people are determined to counter this « network ». Two of them, a beautiful writer and an inexperienced country bumpkin, launch the assault on social injustice, armed with SF gear, microchips and fluorescent tubes. Alex Rivera has made a visually unique film, whose aesthetics are reminiscent of Alejandro Gonzalez Iñarritu’s Babel or Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth. This cyber-thriller shows us the alterglobalization movement from the inside, condemning in passing all forms of imperialism. Che Gevara, armed with a light-saber, would want to be part of the action !


Award :

H. R. Giger « Narcisse » Award for Best Feature Film

World Sales :

Fortissimo Films, Netherlands

producers :

Anthony Bregman

cast :

Jacob Vargas, Leonor Varela, Luis Fernando Pena

Crew :
  • Scriptwriter : Alex Rivera
  • Editor : Alex Rivera
  • Cinematographer : Lisa Rinzler