Neill Blomkamp was born on 16 May 1979 in Johannesburg, then in Transvaal province of South Africa, and grew up under the apartheid regime, which affected his world view and creative vision. His parents gave him a computer when he was 14, which led to experimentation with special effects.
At the age of 16, he met Sharlto Copley, who provided Blomkamp with the use of computers at his production company, Deadtime, for Blomkamp to pursue his passion and talent for 3D animation and design. In return, Blomkamp assisted Copley in creating 3D work for pitches on various projects.
Blomkamp was 18 when he moved to Vancouver, Canada, with his family, where he studied film at the Vancouver Film School.
