Sci Fi Tackles Immigration
Using Predator-like drones, private military contractors remotely defend water reserves in Mexico from drought stricken locals to a soundtrack by Nacional Records. This all-too-possible near future set to a nasty beat is the vision of Sleep Dealer, a Spanish language science fiction film written and directed by Alex Rivera.
It premiered in NYC last April, which makes it ancient in internet time, but we had to post something about it. The thoughtfulness of Rivera, who resides in New York and first filmed the Sixth Section documentary for PBS, charts the genre into unlikely territory. By addressing current political and environmental issues, he grounds it in reality. And he avoids diving into fantasy by exploring technology that seems probable in the near future and in need of serious discussion. All this brings the movie closer to social commentary than mere entertainment.
As for the soundtrack, it features a number of good songs that have since been released for free in one form or another. Bomba Estereo’s “Raza” made its psychedelic Cumbia debut here. It’s since been released as an MPFree over at NYRemezcla (hastily compiled English translation after the jump). The album also included the Latin dub stylings of Fidel Nadal’s “Puerta De Oro (Con Pablo Lescano)”. That was more recently part of the free Nacional Records Sampler 2009. Nortec Collective’s “Tijuana Sound Machine” and “Discoteca Nacional” were also on the soundtrack.
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Fidel Nadal — “Puerta De Oro (Con Pablo Lescano)”
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