Artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have been living in New York since 1964, but had yet to realise one of their controversial projects there. In 1979, they presented an ambitious plan to realise a work of art in Central Park called The Gates. To them, the process leading up to the realisation of a project is an essential part of the work. For that reason they asked the Maysles brothers, with whom they had collaborated before, to make a film about their new work. It would become an extremely lengthy project. The footage
from 1979 (on which David, Albert Maysles's brother who died in 1987, also worked) shows that New Yorkers were not enthousiastic about the artists' plans - for a while, it seemed as if everything would fall through. But by 2003, things turned around and the project was approved after all. The camera closely follows the developments: the filmmakers attend the negotiations and film the construction of the numerous orange gateways and saffron-coloured fabric panels, as well as thereactions from those who attended the opening in February 2005.
