''Beyond the Gates of Splendor'' (also ''Beyond the Gates'') is a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

that was released in 2004. It chronicles the events leading up to and following

Operation Auca Operation Auca was an attempt by five Evangelical Christian missionaries from the United States to bring Christianity to the Waodani or Huaorani people of the rain forest of Ecuador. The Huaorani, also known pejoratively as Aucas (a modificatio ...

, an attempt to contact the

Huaorani The Huaorani, Waorani, or Waodani, also known as the Waos, are an Indigenous people from the Amazonian Region of Ecuador ( Napo, Orellana, and Pastaza Provinces) who have marked differences from other ethnic groups from Ecuador. The alternate ...

tribe of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...

in which five

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 1957 bestseller, '' 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 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

. 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 ''End of the Spear'' is a 2005 American biographical adventure drama film directed by Jim Hanon, written by Bill Ewing, Bart Gavigan and Hanon, and stars Louie Leonardo and Chad Allen. The film recounts the story of Operation Auca, in which five ...

'', 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

;

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

;

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington; and at Wheaton College. 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. 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 Nathanael Saint (30 August 19238 January 1956) was an evangelical Christian missionary pilot who, along with four others, was killed in Ecuador while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people through efforts known as Operation Auca. Early lif ...

* Barbara Youderian, widow of

Roger Youderian Roger Youderian (January 21, 1924 – January 8, 1956) was an American Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four others, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people through efforts known as Operation Auca. Early ...

* Olive Fleming Liefeld, widow of

Pete Fleming Peter Sillence Fleming (November 23, 1928 – January 8, 1956) was a Christian who was one of five missionaries killed while participating in Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador. Early life Fleming was born ...

* Marilou McCully, widow of

Ed McCully Theophilus McCully (June 1, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was a Christian missionary to Ecuador who, along with four other missionaries, was killed while attempting to evangelize the Huaorani people, through efforts known as Operation Auca. Ea ...

* Elisabeth Elliot Gren, widow of

Jim Elliot Philip James Elliot (October 8, 1927 – January 8, 1956) was an American Christian missionary and one of five people killed during Operation Auca, an attempt to evangelize the Huaorani people of Ecuador. Early life Elliot was born in Portlan ...

The Saint Family: *

Steve Saint ''yes'Steve is a masculine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Steven or Stephen Notable people with the name include: steve jops * Steve Abbott (disambiguation), several people * Steve Adams (disambiguation), several people * Steve ...

, son of Nate Saint * Kathy Saint Drown, daughter of Nate Saint *

Rachel Saint Rachel Saint (January 2, 1914 – November 11, 1994) was an American evangelical Christian missionary who worked in Ecuador. Rachel Saint was born in Wyncote, Pennsylvania. She attended the Philadelphia School of the Bible (now Cairn University ...

, 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 Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, a Native South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language **So ...

Indian who lived in

Arajuno Arajuno (pronounced ''ar-a-HOO-no'') is a jungle community in the Ecuadorian rainforest. It is also a Canton (political subdivision) in the Pastaza Province. It is located on the Arajuno River, a tributary of the Curaray. The area is inhabited by ...

Mincaye Mincaye Enquedi (also Mincayi, Minkayi, or Mincayani; Huao for "Wasp") (ca. 1935 - 28 April 2020) was a Huao Ecuadorian preacher and church elder. In 1956, he took part in the now infamous attack on five missionaries during Operation Auca. He is b ...

* Kimo * Ompodae * Dayuma * Paa * Dawa * Tementa Others: * Dave Howard, brother of Elisabeth Elliot *

Frank Drown Frank Drown (September 30, 1922 - January 22, 2018) was an American author and former missionary. He and his wife Marie were missionaries with Avant Ministries, Gospel Missionary Union and worked for 37 years with the Jivaroan peoples, Jívaro Ind ...

, missionary colleague of Roger Youderian and member of the search party, part

Avant Ministries Avant Ministries (formerly known as Gospel Missionary Union) is a non-profit, Christian mission agency focused on planting and developing churches worldwide. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, Avant missionaries serve i ...

(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

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beyond The Gates Of Splendor 2002 films American documentary films Films about hunter-gatherers Operation Auca Films about Christianity 2002 documentary films Films produced by Brent Ryan Green Films shot in Ecuador Films shot in Florida Films shot in Illinois Films shot in Seattle 2000s English-language films Films directed by Jim Hanon 2000s American films