Though both are distinctly South African, the Sony Pictures release District 9 and its director Neill Blomkamp have history in Canada. Already generating huge buzz and rave reviews, the sci-fi melding of action, political satire and poignant drama opens today on 3,000 screens across North America — building on an earlier project at Toronto’s Spy Films and Blomkamp’s stint as an effects artist at Rainmaker.

District 9, the story of ghettoized and exploited refugee aliens in a futuristic South Africa, has its roots at Spy Films where Blomkamp, who is also repped by the shop, made the 2005 short film Alive in Joburg, upon which the feature is based.

‘I wanted to see science fiction set in South Africa, the idea of it drove me nuts,’ Blomkamp tells Playback Daily. He asked Spy president Carlo Trulli to finance the short.

‘Carlo really needs to be commended for putting up the money, that was awesome,’ says Blomkamp. ‘I didn’t have any marketing or plans in mind for Joburg. I did it for the sake of creativity.’

The six-minute short plays as documentary with interviews highlighting the tension between the Johannesburg population and alien visitors.

‘At the time I thought, what a brilliant way to deliver a message about apartheid as an allegory, in this sci-fi way’ recalls Trulli. ‘Neill’s a genius when it comes to visual effects and he loves the world of sci-fi. And I think he wants to create intriguing stories that have a message and tell them in unique ways.’

Blomkamp, who immigrated to Vancouver from South Africa at 18, back to Vancouver, with Image Engine creating 311 VFX shots (primarily alien sequences), The Embassy doing 120 (including the alien weapon), and Zoic Studios providing 30.

Image Engine’s repulsive, insect-like aliens are the largest number of creature shots ever completed in Vancouver.

‘It was a leap of faith on my part but I felt they could do it,’ says Blomkamp. ‘And the truth is they exceeded my expectations, they threw it out of the park. It shows they are A-list and at the top of their game.’

Image Engine visual effects producer Shawn Walsh calls Blomkamp ‘a visionary director.’

‘There is a lot of generous detail in his descriptions and yet at a certain point he turned it over to us and trusted us to bring something to the table and was interested in what we had to offer,’ he says.

The Embassy president Winston Helgason is just as complimentary.

‘Neill has a really clear creative vision of what he wants to achieve and never deviates from that,’ he says. ‘His talent as an animator really helps him visually as a director and he can clearly convey what he wants because he has such a strong understanding having done effects himself.’