# Beyond the Gates of Splendor
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{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Beyond the Gates of Splendor
| image = Beyond the Gates of Splendor FilmPoster.jpeg
| caption =
| director = Jim Hanon
| producer = [Brent Ryan Green](/source/Brent_Ryan_Green)
Mart Green
Kevin McAfee
| writer = Jim Hanon
| narrator = [Steve Saint](/source/Steve_Saint)
| starring = [Mincaye](/source/Mincaye)
[Elisabeth Elliot](/source/Elisabeth_Elliot)
[Frank Drown](/source/Frank_Drown)
[Steve Saint](/source/Steve_Saint)
| music = Ronald Owen
| cinematography = [Robert Fraisse](/source/Robert_Fraisse_(cinematographer))
| editing = Miles Hanon
| distributor = Every Tribe Entertainment
| released = {{Film date|2002|09|27}}
| runtime = 96 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
| gross = $36,412
(US box office total)
}}
'''''Beyond the Gates of Splendor''''' (also '''''Beyond the Gates''''') is a [documentary film](/source/documentary_film) that was released in 2004. It chronicles the events leading up to and following [Operation Auca](/source/Operation_Auca), an attempt to contact the [Huaorani](/source/Huaorani) tribe of [Ecuador](/source/Ecuador) in which five [American](/source/United_States) missionaries were killed. The film was produced by Bearing Fruit Productions and distributed by Every Tribe Entertainment.
==Inspiration==
The title of the film references [Elisabeth Elliot's](/source/Elisabeth_Elliot) 1957 bestseller, ''[Through Gates of Splendor](/source/Through_Gates_of_Splendor)''. First published in 1957, the book told the original story of the five martyred missionaries. A low budget documentary film was also produced with the same name in [1967](/source/1967_in_film). One year after ''Gates'' was published, the first successful peaceful contact with the Huaorani tribe was made. In the years that followed, many Huaos were converted to Christianity and changed their lifestyle. Therefore, ''Beyond the Gates'' recounts the unfolding story up unto the present day. The film also included new information that has since come out about the Palm Beach Massacre through communication with the Indigenous people.
''Beyond the Gates'' was very influential in the production of the drama film ''[End of the Spear](/source/End_of_the_Spear)'', which was released four years later. Many of the same events recounted by the Huaorani interviewees in ''Beyond the Gates'' were depicted dramatically in ''End of the Spear''.
==Filming==
The film was shot on location in [Ecuador](/source/Ecuador); [Ocala, Florida](/source/Ocala%2C_Florida); [Seattle](/source/Seattle), Washington; and at [Wheaton College](/source/Wheaton_College_(Illinois)). There were also interviews from all five widows (two years before both Marilou McCully and Marj Saint died), members of the search party and [members of the Huaorani tribe](/source/List_of_Huaorani_people).
The crew spent 17 days in the jungle to interview members of the Huaorani tribe.
===Interviewees===
The Five Widows:
* Marj Saint Van Der Puy, widow of [Nate Saint](/source/Nate_Saint)
* Barbara Youderian, widow of [Roger Youderian](/source/Roger_Youderian)
* Olive Fleming Liefeld, widow of [Pete Fleming](/source/Pete_Fleming)
* Marilou McCully, widow of [Ed McCully](/source/Ed_McCully)
* [Elisabeth Elliot Gren](/source/Elisabeth_Elliot), widow of [Jim Elliot](/source/Jim_Elliot)
The Saint Family:
* [Steve Saint](/source/Steve_Saint), son of Nate Saint
* Kathy Saint Drown, daughter of Nate Saint
* [Rachel Saint](/source/Rachel_Saint), sister of Nate Saint
* Jesse Saint, son of Steve Saint
* Jaime Saint, son of Steve Saint
* Ginny Saint, wife of Steve Saint
Indians:
* Carmela, a [Quechua](/source/Quechua_people) Indian who lived in [Arajuno](/source/Arajuno)
* [Mincaye](/source/Mincaye)
* Kimo
* Ompodae
* [Dayuma](/source/Dayuma)
* Paa
* Dawa
* Tementa
Others:
* Dave Howard, brother of Elisabeth Elliot
* [Frank Drown](/source/Frank_Drown), missionary colleague of Roger Youderian and member of the search party, part [Avant Ministries](/source/Avant_Ministries) (formerly Gospel Missionary Union)
* Col. Malcolm Nurnberg, leader of the search party
* Clayton Robarchek, anthropologist
* Carole Robarchek, anthropologist
* Valerie Elliot Shepard, daughter of Jim Elliot
==Awards==
The film won the Crystal Heart Award at the Heartland Film Festival in 2002. It also won the Audience Award at the Palm Beach International Film Festival in 2004 for Best Documentary Feature.
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{cite web|last1=Guthrie|first1=Stan|title=Review: Beyond the Gates of Splendor|url=http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/januaryweb-only/beyondthegates.html|website=Christianity Today|date=January 2005 |publisher=January 1, 2005|accessdate=15 February 2015}}
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0337868}}
{{Operation Auca}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beyond The Gates Of Splendor}}
Category:2002 films
Category:American documentary films
Category:Films about hunter-gatherers
Category:Operation Auca
Category:Documentary films about Christianity
Category:2002 documentary films
Category:Films produced by Brent Ryan Green
Category:Films shot in Ecuador
Category:Films shot in Florida
Category:Films shot in Illinois
Category:Films shot in Seattle
Category:2002 English-language films
Category:Films directed by Jim Hanon
Category:2002 American films
Category:English-language documentary films
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Beyond the Gates of Splendor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Gates_of_Splendor) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyond_the_Gates_of_Splendor?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.