The Garden of Earthly Delights

Plot

In the slums of Manila, 11-year-old Ginto dreams of gang life over scavenging, rejecting his sister Asia’s care as she turns to sex work to survive. As Ginto falls for another boy in the gang, he’s forced to confront his identity and desires amid violence and poverty. Meanwhile, Dutch tourist Michael, consumed by dark impulses, descends into the city’s red-light district. When their paths cross, Ginto faces an impossible choice that will shape both their fates in a world where innocence is currency and survival comes at a cost.

About The Garden of Earthly Delights

The Garden of Earthly Delights (Filipino: Ang Hardin ng Makalupang Kasiyahan) is a 2025 drama film directed by Morgan Knibbe from a screenplay he co-wrote with Roelof Jan Minneboo. The story, set in Manila's informal settlements, follows a young boy who aspired to become a gangster, crossed paths with a Dutch tourist who sought solace in the capital's red light district after being scammed, and whose lives collide in a brutal encounter of exploitation and survival. An international co-production between the Netherlands, the Philippines, and Belgium, the film premiered in the Netherlands on 22 March 2025, as part of the Movies That Matter Festival. It received a Philippine release on 15 November, as part of the 13th QCinema International Film Festival's Before Midnight category.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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