Poortwachters plot
The Netherlands has a great humanitarian tradition. There is a strong desire to take care of people in need. But there is a deep chasm between reality and good intentions. 'Gatekeepers' registers the moral and ethical questions of the 'decision makers'. Are asylum seekers who are dropped off by taxi at the gate of the application center actually fleeing, or are they looking for a better life? Filmmaker René Roelofs was given permission to film freely behind the scenes of the service. The documentary Poortwachters shows the working method of the IND within the Ter Apel application center in Groningen, where the fate of refugees and their families is decided in the so-called 48-hour procedure.