In the years since Elysium was released, its future has begun to seem less ham-fisted. In an age when certain billionaires are prone to sharing their plans for leaving Earth behind, the idea of a space station reserved solely for the world’s elite doesn’t seem as far-fetched as it should. Time has been kind to Elysium, even if it hasn’t been kind to us.
IIRC Blomkampf repurposed interviews from and earlier documentary he had done about immigrants from Zimbabwe. I think he reshot the scenes with actors and just changed the subject matter to aliens.