Reframe Spotlight: 'Zero Day'

In the wake of the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, numerous films were made focusing on the horrific acts. Some tried to understand the massacre by turning the mirror on ourselves, like Michael Moore who in 2002 explored the nature of gun violence in our country with his Oscar winning film Bowling For Columbine. Others used it as a way to highlight teen angst with a modern feel, like Gus Van Sant's Elephant, which won the Palme d'Or and Best Director prizes at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003.

In the same year, Ben Coccio's debut feature Zero Day also went on the festival circuit and brought a realistic tone to the school shooting sub genre. Shot in a "found footage" style, the film follows two high school social outcasts as they prepare to conduct a violent attack on their high school. What Coccio (who most recently co-wrote the screenplay for Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines) does best is he doesn't look to point fingers at who's at fault or try to give a sentimental feel to his deranged main characters, with Zero Day he's brought to the surface a new concern in our society and lets the audience decide what to make of it.

To rent or buy Zero Day, go to the Refame Collection.