SAN FRANCISCO -- You've seen the far-out, futuristic interpretations of New York, London and Los Angeles in every sci-fi thriller from Minority Report to Blade Runner. What about Mexico and the rest of the developing world? What will they look like in 50 years?
Despite his film's weighty subject matter -- peak water crisis, the immigration debate, outsourcing -- Sleep Dealer director Alex Rivera thinks audiences will get the biggest kick out of his film for its sweeping panoramic cityscapes of a futuristic Mexico.
"I think [audiences are] responding cinematically, to the futuristic city views," said Rivera, who stopped by the Wired office Thursday while he was in town screening his film at the San Francisco International Film Festival. "The first 10 minutes of a sci-fi film are always the best for that. The rest is just car chases."
*Sleep Dealer *envisions a futuristic work force that, due to closed borders, functions remotely by plugging into a cybernetwork that allows laborers to operate machines, babysit and perform housework from Mexico. The central character, Memo, gets implants placed in his body so he can operate robots remotely to do Americans' drudge work.
In a previous interview with Wired.com, Rivera revealed his interest in fantastic visions of the future: "I love gnomes and goblins and elves. But what I'm really interested in is speculative fiction. I wanted to use this film to ask the question, 'Where are we going?'"
Rivera's art-house debut has been well-received during its film-festival run: Sleep Dealer
won the dramatic screen-writing prize at Sundance, and was recently acquired for distribution by Maya Entertainment. The film is gearing up for a 25-city tour, and Rivera is hoping to orchestrate a simultaneous screening in Mexico and California at Imperial Beach, where the U.S.-Mexico border juts out into the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com
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