| Zero Days | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Alex Gibney |
| Written by | Alex Gibney |
| Produced by | Marc Shmuger Alex Gibney |
| Cinematography | Antonio Rossi Brett Wiley |
| Edited by | Andy Grieve Hannah Vanderlan(co-editor) |
| Music by | Will Bates |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Magnolia Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Zero Days is a 2016 Americandocumentary film directed byAlex Gibney.[1] It was selected to compete for theGolden Bear at the66th Berlin International Film Festival.[2][3]
Although the entire subject is still shrouded in secrecy, the film attempts to tell the story of the development, deployment, discovery, and investigation of theStuxnet computer virus and themalware software known as "Olympic Games" in as much detail, and as accurately, as possible. It concludes with a discussion of the follow-up cyber plan "Nitro Zeus", and the2015 Iran Nuclear Deal.
Zero Days was released digitally onAmazon Prime Video andiTunes on December 6, 2016, broadcast in the UK onBBC Four in theStoryville strand on January 16, 2017, and released on DVD on January 17, 2017.[4]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 90% of 73 critics' reviews of the film are positive, with an average rating of 7.3/10; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Factors beyond Gibney's control preventZero Days from offering a comprehensive look at its subject, but the partial picture that emerges remains as frightening as it is impossible to ignore."[5] OnMetacritic, the film has aweighted average score of 77 out of 100 based on reviews from 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[6]
Writing forRogerEbert.com,Godfrey Cheshire praised the film 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."[7]
Zero Days was among the 15 films shortlisted forBest Documentary Feature at the89th Academy Awards,[8][9] but it was not chosen as one of the final five nominees in the category. It was nominated forBest Documentary Screenplay at the69th Writers Guild of America Awards.[10] The film won aPeabody Award in 2017.[11]