The Gate

Jasmin Herold, Michael David Beamish / Germany / 2023 / Czech Premiere / 88 min.

synopsis

In the middle of the Utah desert, near the Skull Valley Indian Reservation, is a heavily guarded military base where the U.S. military has been developing and testing chemical, biological and nuclear weapons since World War II. It was here that the pilots who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima were trained. Anyone working at the military facility is bound by confidentiality. Nevertheless, the filmmakers piece together a complex picture of the high price the United States pays for wars that take place thousands of miles away, yet are painfully etched into the American landscape and mentality.

“There is no one reality, especially not in documentary film. Our film is more a reflection on the costs of war and human existence.” — Michael David Beamish

Quote source: der Freitag

biography

Jasmin Herold (1976) is a German director who previously worked as a radio editor and journalist in Australia. She also lived in Canada for two years. She studied literary studies at the renowned German Institute for Literature in Leipzig.

Michael David Beamish (1982) is a Canadian actor, director and playwright. With Jasmin Herold, he made the documentary Dark Eden (2018), which focuses on the destruction of nature and human health in the context of oil extraction in Fort McMurray, Canada.

more about film

director:	Jasmin Herold, Michael David Beamish
producer:	Heino Deckert
photography:	Claire Pijman
editing:	Claire Pijman
music:	Markus Aust
sound:	Michael David Beamish
sound design:	Adrian Lo