The plot is based on a 2005 short film , Alive in Joburg , also directed by Blomkamp and produced by Sharlto Copley and Simon Hansen , pivots on the themes of xenophobia and social segregation . The story , adapted from Alive in Joburg , a 2005 short film directed by Blomkamp and produced by Sharlto Copley and Simon Hansen , pivots on the themes of xenophobia and social segregation .