Let the Sundance awards begin.......After announcing the winners of the Sundance/NHK Filmmakers Awards, the Festival disclosed yesterday that the futuristic film SLEEP DEALER, directed by Alex Rivera, has won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize. The honor, which carries a $20,000 cash award to the filmmaker provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, is presented to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer or mathematician as a major character. The Prize will be presented at tonight's Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony.

SLEEP DEALER, which is Rivera's feature film debut, was developed at the 2000 and 2001 Sundance Institute Feature Film Program Labs, and was also a recipient of the 2002 Sundance/NHK Filmmaker Award and a 2004 Annenberg Feature Film Fellowship. The film tells a story set in a near future in which technology has re-framed the human condition. The jury selected the film "for its visionary and humane tale of a young man grappling with a technological future in which neural implants, telerobotics and ubiquitous computing serve a global economy rife with fundamental challenges and opportunities, and for its powerful and original storytelling and direction." Visit the film's official website: www.sleepdealer.com

The winning film was selected by a committee of film and science professionals based on the quality of the film’s presentation of science and technology themes and/or characters. This year’s Alfred P. Sloan jury members include: legendary actor Alan Alda (MASH, CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS); filmmaker Michael Polish (TWIN FALLS IDAHO); author Evan I. Schwartz ; and scientist John Underkoffler, who has also served as science and technology advisor on the films MINORITY REPORT (2002), THE HULK (2003), and AEON FLUX (2005).


This effort at Sundance is part of a broader national program by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to stimulate leading artists in film, television, and theater; to create more authentic and compelling stories about science and technology; and to challenge existing stereotypes about scientists, engineers, and mathematicians in the popular imagination.

Sandy Mandelberger, Sundance FF Editor on fest21.com