District 9 is a 2009 science fiction film directed by Neill Blomkamp, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Jason Cope, and Robert Hobbs. Copley plays the role of Wikus van de Merwe, a bureaucrat assigned to relocate an extraterrestrial race of aliens, derogatorily referred to as "prawns", from a refugee camp in Johannesburg to a new one outside the city. After being exposed to a substance that will slowly transform him into an alien, Wikus becomes a fugitive and helps the aliens escape the planet and perhaps save his humanity. The story, adapted from "Alive in Joburg", a 2005 short film directed by Blomkamp and produced by Copley, deals with the issues of xenophobia and social segregation. The title and premise of District 9 were inspired by historical events that took place in South Africa during the apartheid in a residential area of Cape Town named District Six