The 2008 Sundance Film Festival is pleased to announce that SLEEP DEALER, directed by Alex Rivera, is the recipient of this year’s Alfred P. Sloan Prize. The Prize, 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 the Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony on Saturday, January 26. 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 award and a 2004 Annenberg Feature Film Fellowship.

SLEEP DEALER is a story set in a near future in which technology has re-framed the human condition. The film, which screened in Dramatic Competition, was selected "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."

The Alfred P. Sloan Prize is a major component of the Sundance Science-in-Film Initiative, which is made possible by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The Initiative supports the development and exhibition of new independent film projects that explore science and technology themes or that depict scientists, engineers and
mathematicians in engaging and innovative ways.

In addition to the Prize, the Initiative presents a panel discussion at the Festival that brings together scientists and filmmakers to explore compelling, contemporary issues regarding science in film; and, in the Sundance Feature Film
Program, the Initiative supports the Sloan Commissioning Fund, which provides resources for Initiative projects early in the development phase; and the Sloan Fellowship, which develops eligible projects at the Sundance Feature Film
Labs towards production. This Initiative blends the Sloan Foundation’s goal of enhancing public understanding of science and technology with Sundance Institute’s mission to foster independent voices and compelling storytelling in
film.