District 9

District 9 is a 2009 science fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zealand, the United States and South Africa.

The film

In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new 'Prawn' friends.

Production team

Production credits as follows: Bill Block (executive producer), Philippa Boyens (co-producer), Carolynne Cunningham (producer), Trishia Downie (line producer), Elliot Ferwerda (co-executive producer), Paul Hanson (co-executive producer), Peter Jackson (producer), Ken Kamins (executive producer), Michael S. Murphey (supervising producer), Mpho Gift Twala (producer: documentary unit), Mark Brooke (executive producer - uncredited). Music by Clinton Shorter, cinematography by Trent Opaloch, film editing by Julian Clarke, casting by Denton Douglas and production design by Philip Ivey.

The cast

The cast includes Sharlto Copley ("Wikus van der Merwe"), Jason Cope ("Grey Bradnam - UKNR Chief Correspondent / Christopher Johnson"), Nathalie Boltt ("Sarah Livingstone", a sociologist), Sylvaine Strike ("Dr Katrina McKenzie"), Elizabeth Mkandawie ("Interviewee"), John Sumner ("Les Feldman - MIL Engineer"), William Allen Young ("Dirk Michaels"), Greg Melvill-Smith ("Interviewer"), Nick Blake ("Francois Moraneu - CIV Engineer Team"), Morena Busa Sesatsa ("Interviewee"), Themba Nkosi ("Interviewee"), Mzwandile Nqoba ("Interviewee"), Barry Strydom ("Interviewee"), Jed Brophy ("James Hope" a police officer) and Louis Minnaar ("Piet Smit").