Zero Days

Not to be confused with Zero day (disambiguation).

This article is about the film. For the album, see Zero Days (album).

Zero Days is a 2016 American documentary film directed by Alex Gibney.^[1] It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival.^[2][3]

Zero Days
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Alex Gibney
Written by	Alex Gibney
Production companies	Participant Media Showtime Documentary Films Global Produce Jigsaw Productions
Distributed by	Magnolia Pictures
Release dates	February 11, 2016 (2016-02-11) (Berlin) July 8, 2016 (2016-07-08) (US)
Running time	116 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Synopsis

Zero Days covers the phenomenon surrounding the Stuxnet computer virus and the development of the malware software known as "Olympic Games." It concludes with discussion over follow-up cyber plan Nitro Zeus and the Iran Nuclear Deal.

Interviewees

• David E. Sanger
• Emad Kiyaei, Director External Affairs at the American Iranian Council (AIC),
• Eric Chien (Symantec)
• Liam O'Murchu (Symantec)
• Colonel Gary D. Brown, staff judge advocate of the United States Cyber Command
• Gary Samore
• Chris Inglis, NSA Deputy Director 2006–2014
• Amos Yadlin
• Yossi Melman
• Yuval Steinitz
• Eugene Kaspersky
• Vitaly Kamluk
• Michael Hayden
• Olli Heinonen
• Ralph Langner, German control system security consultant
• Richard A. Clarke
• Rolf Mowatt-Larssen
• Seán Paul McGurk, Department of Homeland Security Director of Cybersecurity 2008–2011
• Sergey Ulasen (Kaspersky Lab Belarus)

Reception

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes collected 66 reviews as of May 6, 2017, of which 91% were positive. The site's consensus states: "Factors beyond Gibney's control prevent Zero Days from offering a comprehensive look at its subject, but the partial picture that emerges remains as frightening as it is impossible to ignore."^[4] Metacritic gave the film a score of 77/100 based on 23 critics.^[5]

Writing for RogerEbert.com, Godfrey Cheshire praised Zero Days as "Easily the most important film anyone has released this year, it is a documentary that deserves to be seen by every sentient citizen of this country—and indeed the world."^[6]

Accolades

Zero Days was among 15 films shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary,^[7][8] but ultimately did not receive an Oscar nomination. The film won a documentary film Peabody Award in 2017^[9] and was nominated for Best Documentary Screenplay from the Writers Guild of America.^[10]

Release

Zero Days was released digitally on Amazon Video and iTunes on December 6, 2016, broadcast on BBC Four in the Storyville strand in the UK on January 16, 2017, and DVD on January 17, 2017.^[11]

See also

• Not for the Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power and Persistence
• The Pragmatic Entente: Israeli-Iranian Relations, 1948-1988

References

1. "Zero Days". Berlinale. 2016. Retrieved August 29, 2016.
2. "Jan 11, 2016: Berlinale Competition 2016: Another nine films selected". Berlinale. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
3. "Berlin Film Festival Adds Nine Films to Competition Lineup". Variety. January 11, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
4. "Zero Days". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
5. "Zero Days". Metacritic. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
6. "Zero Days Movie Review". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
7. Scott Feinberg (December 6, 2016). "Oscars: What the Doc Shortlist Got Right and Wrong, and Which of the 15 Will Make the Final 5". The Hollywood Reporter.
8. Anne Thompson (December 6, 2016). "Oscars 2017 Documentary Shortlist Analysis: Netflix Edges Out HBO, and Other Snubs and Surprises". IndieWire.
9. Participant Media (April 18, 2017). "Zero Days wins Peadbody Award".
10. "2017 Writers Guild Awards Winners". indiewire.com. IndieWire. February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 17, 2019.
11. "Zero Days DVD Release Date". DVDs Release Dates. Retrieved May 6, 2017.

External links

• Zero Days at IMDb
• Zero Days at Rotten Tomatoes