Alex Rivera (born 1973, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) is an American

film maker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

, best known for his films about

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

, and politics.

Early life

Rivera was born in 1973 in New York City, New York. His father is a

Peruvian Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...

immigrant and his mother is an American citizen. Growing up as a bicultural youth in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, he took an interest in the fields of film, digital media, and

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

.Sleep Dealer. Dir. Alex Rivera. Perf. Luis Fernando Peña, Leonor Varela, Jacob Vargas. Likely Story and This is That Productions /Maya Entertainment, 2008 He is well known for his work '' Sleep Dealer'', which premiered in the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. He was awarded the

Creative Capital Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has commi ...

Moving Image Award, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Feature Film Prize and the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award.

Career

Rivera studied political science and media theory at Hampshire College, graduating in 1995. He is also a New York-based digital media artist and filmmaker. Due to his knowledge and background in cinematography, his work address concerns of the Latino community concentrating on political issues such as migration, race and gender. In addition he uses language as a form of satire and humor to enhance the understanding Latinos contributions within various Anglo communities, much like the

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

A Day Without a Mexican ''A Day Without a Mexican'' is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Sergio Arau in his directorial debut from a screenplay co-written with Yareli Arizmendi and Sergio Guerrero. It stars Yareli Arizmendi, John Getz, Maureen Flannigan, Muse Watson, F ...

''. According to his website alexrivera.com, Rivera states that "over the past ten years he's been making work that illuminates two massive and parallel realities: the globalization of information through the internet, and the globalization of families, and communities, through mass migration." Rivera, captures the process of migration and the social changes immigrants face in order to be considered a model United States citizen.Peter, Hartlaub. "FILM CLIPS / Sleep Dealer." San Francisco Chronicle (10/1/2007 to present) 19 June 2009: E2. Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Web. 9 May 2011 The issues that are presented through his films impact the Latino communities because of the realism that is presented by characters in his films. They establish relationships with audiences, not only from the Latin/Latino community, but from all those who have experience dehumanization from their host countries. Rivera wants his viewers to understand that the "American Dream, is five minutes into the future,Slaughter, Stephany. “(In)visibilities,(De)humanizations and Globalizations: The Migrant Body in Border Film of the 2000s.” Forum for Inter-American Research. (FIAR) where the relationship between technology and a variety of political issues where it is precisely through a visualization of the dehumanization of migrants through technology that the film engages with their humanization." Alex Rivera has made films about labor, immigration, and politics since the 1990s.Decena, Carlos Ulises, and Margaret Gray. "Putting Transnationalism to Work: AN INTERVIEW WITH FILMMAKER ALEX RIVERA." Social Text 24.3 (2006): 131-138. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 9 May 2011. Some of his work has been viewed as

mockumentaries A mockumentary (a Blend word, blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or ...

and works that illustrate the transnational struggles of immigrants.Delfin, Vigil. "'El Norte,' more relevant than ever, makes return visit." ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' (10/1/2007 to present) 05 Nov. 2008: E1. Newspaper Source. EBSCO. Web. 9 May 2011. Rivera's work reveals the transnational obstacles immigrants face in fighting for inclusion in the U.S. while providing for public development back in their hometowns. Rivera's films raise questions about "immigrant labor as a mobile commodity and the relationship of this commodity (and the bodies that perform it) to capital accumulation". Rivera's use of hometown associations in his films illustrates the use of transnational neighborhoods (also referred to as transnational barrios) as a source of organization. Rivera also illustrates how immigrants use the dollar from the U.S. to reverse U.S.’s exploitation of the immigrant's hometown. His films also critique how U.S. immigration policy dehumanizes immigrants for their labor, and critiques

neoliberal Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

economic globalization Economic globalization is one of the three main dimensions of globalization commonly found in academic literature, with the two others being political globalization and cultural globalization, as well as the general term of globalization. Econom ...

through futuristic examples. Rivera's most notable film for critiquing U.S. immigration policies through futuristic examples has been '' Sleep Dealer'', which is described as a "sci-fi border saga." Rivera is said to use influences such as ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

'' and '' El Norte'' to express the struggles of immigrants. In an interview Rivera draws parallels to express the U.S. as the Galactic Empire and the victims of U.S.’s immigration and economic policies as the Rebel Forces.

Awards and nominations

*2021

MacArthur Fellowship The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the MacArthur Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to ...

;Sleep Dealer (2008) * Sundance Film Festival - Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award & Alfred P. Sloan Award 2008 * Berlin International Film Festival - Amnesty International Award 2008 * Neuchatel International Fantasy Film Festival - Best of the Festival 2008 * Gotham Awards - Nominee Breakthrough Director 2008 * Independent Spirit Awards - Nominee Best First Feature 2008 *

award 2000 ;The Sixth Section (2003) * Guanajuato Film Festival - Best Documentary 2004 * UrbanWorld Film Festival - Best Documentary 2004 ;Why Cybraceros? (1997) *Cine Festival - Best Experimental 1997 ;Papapá (1995) *Chicago Intercom Competition - Silver Hugo 1995 *New York Expo of Short Film and Video - Silver Award 1995 http://estudiosculturales.ucdavis.edu

Filmography

Film

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Alex 1973 births Living people American people of Peruvian descent American filmmakers Alfred P. Sloan Prize winners