It chronicles the events leading up to and following Operation Auca, an attempt to contact the Huaorani tribe of Ecuador in which five American missionaries were killed.

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, which was released four years later.

The film was shot on location in Ecuador; Ocala, Florida; Seattle, Washington; and at Wheaton College.

It also won the Audience Award at the Palm Beach International Film Festival in 2004 for Best Documentary Feature.