Zero Day Information

Zero Day is a 2003 American film directed by Ben Coccio about a school shooting; it is based on the Columbine High School massacre of 1999.

Plot

The film begins with the introduction of Andre Kriegman and Calvin Gabriel announcing their intention to attack their high school, calling their plan "Zero Day". They keep a video diary on the camera, carefully hiding it from their friends and families. The majority of the film is portrayed through their video filming, and shows them planning, preparing, and explaining some of their motives.

Other scenes show the two attending Andre's birthday party, egging the house of someone they dislike, and Cal going to the prom while Andre works at a pizza place. In one video entry, Cal notes the origin of the name "Zero Day": Cal and Andre originally planned to attack on the first day on which the temperature dropped to zero degrees after they had finished their preparations. This plan soon proved impractical, and they set May 1, 2001 as the new date. Wanting their attack to have a memorable name, they agreed to keep the original title.

The final scenes of the movie show the boys arriving at school on May 1 and preparing their weapons in Andre's car. Andre says that he could never have carried out Zero Day without Cal's help, a sentiment Cal echoes. They run into the school, armed with three pistols, an M1 carbine, and a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, all stolen from Andre's father and his cousin. The shooting is shown through the viewpoint of security cameras. The dialogue is heard via the cell phone of a student who is shot and killed. Shooting at anyone they see, Andre and Cal eventually see law enforcement arriving in force after sixteen minutes of shooting. After arguing over whether to engage the police in gunfire, the pair decided to count to three and shoot themselves.

The next scene is set on May 10, nine days after the shooting. A group of youths film themselves going to a park where memorial crosses are standing. They say that Andre and Cal killed twelve students and themselves. Finding crosses for the pair, they set them on fire and run back to their cars. The last scene shows the two crosses burning.

Cast

In order of appearance:

• Andre Keuck as Andre Kriegman
• Cal Robertson as Calvin Gabriel
• Christopher Coccio as Chris Kriegman
• Gerhard Keuck as Andre's Father
• Johanne Keuck as Andre's Mother
• Rachel Benichak as Rachel Lurie
• Pam Robertson as Cal's Mother
• Steve Robertson as Cal's Father

Origin and filming style

The film was made in response to the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. According to Coccio, he began writing the film shortly afterward, and completed it in mid-2001, using no professional cameras. The film's initial release was cancelled after September 11, to avoid distress. He edited the film more over the next six months, and eventually released it in 2003, nearly two years after completion.

The film's camcorder-style perspective was based on the basement tapes made by the perpetrators, in which they discussed their plan to attack Columbine High. The penultimate scene uses a security camera viewpoint, and Coccio based it on the footage from the Columbine High School cafeteria during the shooting.

The scene of the shooting generated controversy on websites such as YouTube and discussion blogs. As the shots are shown through security cameras, some uninformed viewers mistakenly believed that the footage in the film is the surveillance footage from Columbine. It was footage created for this film.

Reception

Zero Day initially sparked some controversy, but received mostly positive reviews. Zero Day also won several awards at film festivals throughout America. Journalist Dave Cullen, who has written extensively about Columbine, described it as "the one great Columbine film."

Awards

• Atlanta Film Festival " Grand Jury Award 2003
• Boston Underground Film Festival " Best of Festival 2003
• Film Fest New Haven " Audience Choice Award, Best Dramatic Feature 2003
• Florida Film Festival " Grand Jury Award 2003
• Rhode Island Film Festival " Audience Award 2003
• Slamdunk Film Festival " Grand Jury Award 2003

See also

• Columbine High School massacre
• School shooting