Neill Blomkamp born 17 September 1979 is a South AfricanCanadian film director film producer screenwriter and animator Blomkamp employs a documentarystyle handheld cinéma vérité technique blending naturalistic and photorealistic computergenerated effects He is best known as the cowriter and director of the critically acclaimed and financially successful science fiction film District 9 and the dystopian science fiction film Elysium which garnered moderately positive reviews and a good box office return He is also known for his collaborations with South African actor Sharlto Copley He is based in Vancouver British Columbia Time named Blomkamp as one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2009 Forbes magazine named him as the 21st most powerful celebrity from Africa