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Plot, Details & Awards

District 9

Rated R for bloody violence and pervasive language.

R In Theaters 08/14/2009 , 112min.
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Plot & Details

Director Neill Blomkamp teams with producer Peter Jackson for this tale of extraterrestrial refugees stuck in contemporary South Africa. It's been 28 years since the aliens made first contact, but there was never any attack from the skies, nor any profound technological revelation capable of advancing our society. Instead, the aliens were treated as refugees. They were the last of their kind, and in order to accommodate them, the government of South Africa set up a makeshift home in District 9 as politicians and world leaders debated how to handle the situation. As the humans begin to grow wary of the unwelcome intruders, a private company called Multi-National United (MNU) is assigned the task of controlling the aliens. But MNU is less interested in the aliens' welfare than attempting to understand how their weaponry works. Should they manage to make that breakthrough, they will receive tremendous profits to fund their research. Unfortunately, the highly advanced weaponry requires alien DNA in order to be activated. When MNU field operative Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley) is exposed to biotechnology that causes his DNA to mutate, the tensions between the aliens and the humans intensifies. Wikus is the key to unlocking the alien's technology, and he quickly becomes the most wanted man on the planet. Ostracized and isolated, Wikus retreats to District 9 in a desperate bid to shake his dogged pursuers.
  • MPAA Rating: R
  • Genre(s): Action,Science Fiction
  • Run Time: 112min.
  • Theatrical Release Date: 08/14/2009
  • DVD Release Date: 12/22/2009
  • Status: In Theaters
  • Distributor(s): Sony
  • Director(s): Neill Blomkamp
  • Starring: Sharlto Copley , Jason Cope , David James , Vanessa Haywood , Mandla Gaduka
  • Themes: Benign Aliens,Flight of the Innocent
  • Tone: Humorous,Tense,Visceral,Gruesome,Explosive,Reflective
  • Keywords: Africa,DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid),alien [not human],escape,mutant,refugee-camp,technology,virus,weapons,South-Africa,biotechnology,concentration-camp
  • Country of Origin: USA (08-14-2009)
  • Language: English

Awards

Academy Awards

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects Daniel Kaufman Nominated
2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects Robert Habros Nominated
2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects Matt Aitken Nominated
2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay Neill Blomkamp Nominated
2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture Peter Jackson Nominated
2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Picture Carolynne Cunningham Nominated
2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Editing Julian Clarke Nominated
2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Adapted Screenplay Terri Tatchell Nominated
2009 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Visual Effects Peter Muyzers Nominated

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Cinematography Trent Opaloch Nominated
2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design Guy Poltgieter Nominated
2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Sound Nominated
2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design Nominated
2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Editing Julian Clarke Nominated
2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director Neill Blomkamp Nominated
2009 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Production Design Phillip Ivey Nominated

Golden Globes

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
2009 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay Neill Blomkamp Nominated
2009 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Screenplay Terri Tatchell Nominated
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