Country: Netherlands, Philippines, Belgium
Year: 2025
Duration: 123'
In the slums of Manila, eleven-year-old scavenger Ginto fights for survival and dreams of becoming a gangster. He escapes harsh realities with his best friend, sharing tender moments and drug-induced journeys to a paradise of blooming flowers. His protective sister Asia struggles as a sex worker seeking a better life. Meanwhile, Dutch tourist Michael arrives, planning to celebrate Christmas with his online Filipino girlfriend, only to discover he’s been catfished. Betrayed and broken, Michael descends into the city’s red-light district. When their paths cross, Ginto faces an impossible decision, drawing him into a brutal garden of earthly delights.
Biography
film director
Morgan Knibbe
(Netherlands) gained international acclaim with his short film Shipwreck (2014) and his feature documentary debut Those Who Feel the Fire Burning (2014), the Dutch entry for the Oscars. Both films earned over 30 international awards, including three Golden Calves, as well as nominations at the European Film Awards and IDFA. His short documentary The Atomic Soldiers (2018) won a Golden Calf and the Dutch Directors Guild prize. Morgan also directed segments for Netflix’s Human Playground (2022), narrated by Idris Elba, exploring the origins and evolution of play worldwide.
FILMOGRAFIA
A Twist in the Fabric of Space (cm, 2012), Shipwreck (cm, 2014), Those Who Feel the Fire Burning (doc, 2014), The Atomic Soldiers (cm, doc, 2018), What Does a Nuclear Bomb Explosion Feel Like? (video, cm, 2018), Human Playground: un mondo di sport (tv, 2022), The Garden of Earthly Delights (2025).
Declaration
film director
“The way I see it, we live in a global economy where bodies are exploited, whether in sweatshops, mines, plantations or brothels. Striving towards the lowest possible wages, multinationals continue to prey on those most vulnerable, exploiting resources and bleeding the former colonies dry, while people in the West enjoy disproportionate wealth. This is why I started writing The Garden of Earthly Delights, with the goal of asking audiences to recognize and acknowledge the humanity of those who have been dehumanized for centuries. The film asks audiences to confront a history we have too often chosen to ignore.”
Cast
& Credits
DIRECTOR: Morgan Knibbe. SCREENPLAY: Morgan Knibbe, Roelof-Jan Minneboo. CINEMATOGRAPHY: Frank van den Eeden. FILM EDITING: Xander Nijsten. PRODUCTION DESIGN: Maolen Marxie Fadul. COSTUME DESIGN: Steve Salvador. MUSIC: Jose Antonio C. Buencamino. SOUND: Vincent Sinceretti. CAST: JP Rodriguez Benjamin Moen, Francesca Dela Cruz, Bunny Cadag, John Michael Toling, Paula Mikaela Padon, Ada Belamide. PRODUCTION: Frank Hoeve, Armi Rae Cacanidin for Baldr Film, Popple Pictures. COPRODUCTION: Eurydice Gysel, Koen Mortier, Martien Vlietman for Czar Film, Vpro.
CONTACT: Film Baldr info@baldrfilm.nl
