Soweto: District 9 residents forced to leave

Justice Mafisa outside his home in Chiawelo. He, like many other residents, does not want to be relocated. The futuristic film District 9 echoes reality, detailing a bureaucrat's efforts to relocate a stranded alien species from their slums to new homes Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee

Gloria Baloyi lives in a Chiawelo shack in Soweto, South Africa, in very similar conditions to those portrayed in Neil Blomkamp's sci-fi film District 9 Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee

France Mokoena worked on the film District 9 as a general builder Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee

Matilde Isaacs in Chiawelo, outside her shack Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee

Real shacks and powerlines such as these in Chiawelo were featured in District 9 Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee

Earnest Molefe, right, and Vusi Mtembo with his little daughter Thembi Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee

Moses Malinga drinks from a broken water pipe, the community's only access to drinking water Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee

Silvia Khosa, 24, with her daughter Unathi, is excited about the film shot in her area, although she has not seen it yet Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee

John Nekhumbe and Raylene Magoro sit in a 'donkey cart' Photograph: Jeffrey Barbee