Sony Pictures Classics picks up “The Gatekeepers”

July 30, 2012 by Kelly Anderson

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Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all North American rights to The Gatekeepers, a documentary from Dror Moreh about six former Israeli secret service agents.

The film is a coproduction between Paris-based DMP Les Films du Poisson and Tel Aviv-based Cinephil, and features six former heads of Shin Bet, Israel’s domestic secret service agency, as they share insights and reflect on actions and decisions they’ve made over the course of their tenure.

The men have worked closely with every Israeli prime minister, and The Gatekeepers gives an account of their successes and failures at their jobs, and touches on the aftermath of the Six Day War in 1967.

The deal was negotiated with Sony Pictures Classics by Philippa Kowarsky, on behalf of Cinephil Sales. “The Gatekeepers is an important documentary and a major piece of filmmaking giving fresh and revealing insight into one of the major issues of our time,” said Sony Pictures Classics in a statement.

“I was startled but thrilled when six former heads of the Shin Bet agreed to discuss their careers openly on camera for the very first time,” added the director, Dror Moreh. “This gave me a unique and intimate opportunity to enter the inner sanctum of Israel’s security decision-makers for almost half a century.

“Numerous times during the making of this film, I found myself overwhelmed by their stories and testimonies. I kept asking myself how far I would have gone when confronting the same life or death dilemmas. I still do.”

Tags: Cinephil, Dror Moreh, Philippa Kowarsky, Sony Pictures Classics, The Gatekeepers