Filmmaker Alex Rivera on his Cult Classic "Sleep Dealer", and Creating a New Cinema for the Border

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The Border Chronicle

Melissa del Bosque and Todd Miller

81 episodes

1 day ago

The Border Chronicle podcast is hosted by Melissa del Bosque and Todd Miller. Based in Tucson, Arizona, longtime journalists Melissa and Todd speak with fascinating fronterizos, community leaders, migrants, activists, artists and more at the U.S.-Mexico border.

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Filmmaker Alex Rivera on his Cult Classic "Sleep Dealer", and Creating a New Cinema for the Border

The Border Chronicle

44 minutes 5 seconds

1 month ago

Filmmaker Alex Rivera on his Cult Classic "Sleep Dealer", and Creating a New Cinema for the Border

Filmmaker Alex Rivera debuted Sleep Dealer, his groundbreaking border science fiction movie, at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008. The film won several awards but did not receive the wide commercial release it deserved. Over the years, Sleep Dealer has been rereleased on digital platforms and become a cult classic.

The Border Chronicle is proud to announce that on October 15, viewers will have the opportunity to see Sleep Dealer on the big screen at the Fox Theater in Tucson as part of the Cinematic Borderlands Film and Conversation Series, presented by the Fox Theater, Cinema Tucsón, Cinema Tropical, Borderlands Cinematic Arts, The Border Chronicle, and other community partners.

In this podcast, Melissa del Bosque speaks with Rivera about what inspired him to make Sleep Dealer and about collaborating with his life and creative partner, Cristina Ibarra. Both were awarded MacArthur Foundation grants, often referred to as “genius grants,” in 2021. The two filmmakers created the innovative half-documentary/half-scripted film The Infiltrators in 2019 and founded Borderlands Cinematic Arts, a filmmaking lab based in Los Angeles that is part of Arizona State University’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School, where Rivera is also an associate professor. The lab focuses on creating authentic and nuanced cinematic works about the borderlands.

Sleep Dealer touches on many social and political issues, including the border security industrial complex, migration, and social and economic inequality. Check it out on the big screen on October 15 at 7 p.m., followed by an audience Q&A moderated by The Border Chronicle’s Melissa del Bosque.

Also, don’t miss Ibarra’s wonderful documentary Las Marthas , about Laredo’s Society of Martha Washington Colonial Pageant and Ball celebration, screening on October 8 at 7 p.m. as part of the Cinematic Borderlands Film and Conversation Series. Last, don’t miss Take It Away, a documentary about the legendary Tejano music host Johnny Canales, screening on October 22 at 7 p.m.

You can buy tickets and learn more about the films here.

Watch a short film on the making of Sleep Dealer here