Area 6

Area 6 is a 2018 epic science fiction thriller film directed by Douglas Mackinnon from a screenplay by William Nicholson. It is a British and American venture produced by Adam Campbell-Sing and Douglas Rae, with Roland Emmerich (director of Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow) serving as an executive producer. The film stars Rob Ostlere, Terry Notary, Frances Bishop, Phil Davis and Anthony LaPaglia.

The film was ranked by many critics as the best film of 2018, as well as one of the greatest science fiction films ever made; acclaim went to its screenplay, action sequences, visual effects, art direction, and its overall narrative structure. It won multiple critical and guild awards, and was nominated for ten Academy Awards in 2019 including Best Picture and Best Original Score, and won six, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Editing.

The story, adapted from Alive in Edgbaston, a 2017 novel written by Sing, depicts humanity, xenophobia, and social segregation. The title and premise of Area 6 were loosely based upon events in South Africa during the apartheid era. The film was produced for just US$10 million and shot on location in Birmingham, West Midlands, presenting fictional interviews, news footage, and video from surveillance cameras in a found footage format. A viral marketing campaign began in 2017, while the theatrical trailer appeared in March 2018. Released by Paramount Pictures, the film opened in conventional and IMAX theatres on 11 May 2018, in North America and earned US$69 million in its opening weekend. Since then it has grossed a worldwide total of US$745 million, setting a new record for a film with a budget lower than US$100 Million.