The Gardener, the Buddhist and the Spy

  • cph dox

The Gardener, the Buddhist & the Spy is a gripping story about power struggle, failure, and the delicate balance between good and bad.

Year

2025

Length

95 min 

Director

Håvard Bustnes

Share

Synopsis

Rob Moore, a former TV producer, lives a life of secrets and deception. For five years he has pretended to be a journalist and documentary filmmaker to gain the trust of anti-asbestos activists. In reality, he has worked undercover as a spy for the asbestos industry mafia. When his true identity is revealed, the shock waves hit the activists hard.

But Rob refuses to be labelled a cynical fraud. He says he in fact was a double agent secretly gathering evidence against his own employers – greedy oligarchs and multinational corporations trying to prevent a global ban on asbestos. With the revelation of the spy scandal, Rob’s life is in ruins, but he sees an opportunity to regain his credibility. He convinces two veteran British journalists to tell his story about widespread corruption in a podcast.

As the journalists delve deeper into the case, they get increasingly concerned with Rob’s mysterious past and the ethical dilemmas of his espionage. The boundaries between truth and lies become blurred. Is Rob a truth-seeking whistleblower or a cynical manipulator? And who controls the narrative? As the journalists attempt to uncover the truth, they realize that they themselves are caught in a web of lies and that Rob’s story may be hiding a threat bigger than anyone could have imagined.

Director
Håvard Bustnes

Director of Photography
Amy Newstead

Cut
Torkel Gjørv

Sound
Håvard Bustnes

Music
Nils Kacirek

Sound Design
Kai Storck

Mixing
Sascha Heiny

Color Correction
Bernie Greiner

Graphics
Studio Fritz Gnad

Production Management Beetz Brothers
Marcel Rechten

Herstellungsleitung Beetz Brothers
Ferdinand Freising

Postproduction Management
Alexander Steyer (Beetz Brothers)
Jonas Hannestad (Indie Film)

Producer
Silje Poulsen Viki (Indie Film)
Nele Thumser (Beetz Brothers)
Eva Fouquet (Beetz Brothers)

Executive Producer
Carsten Aanonson
Håvard Bustnes
Reinhardt Beetz
Kat Mansoor

Production Management NDR
Frederik Keunecke

Assistant Editor NDR/arte
Kristina Madejczyk 

Commissioning Editor NDR/arte
Kathrin Bronnert

Editorial Management NDR/arte
Claudia Cellarius

Billions Mike
Trailer

Produced by

  • beetz
  • indie film
  • up north

In co-production with

  • ndr

In association with

  • arte

Supported by

  • nordmedia

The Gardener, the Buddhist and the Spy

  • cph dox

The Gardener, the Buddhist & the Spy is a gripping story about power struggle, failure, and the delicate balance between good and bad.

Year

2025

Length

95 min 

Director

Håvard Bustnes

Share

Synopsis

Rob Moore, a former TV producer, lives a life of secrets and deception. For five years he has pretended to be a journalist and documentary filmmaker to gain the trust of anti-asbestos activists. In reality, he has worked undercover as a spy for the asbestos industry mafia. When his true identity is revealed, the shock waves hit the activists hard.

But Rob refuses to be labelled a cynical fraud. He says he in fact was a double agent secretly gathering evidence against his own employers – greedy oligarchs and multinational corporations trying to prevent a global ban on asbestos. With the revelation of the spy scandal, Rob’s life is in ruins, but he sees an opportunity to regain his credibility. He convinces two veteran British journalists to tell his story about widespread corruption in a podcast.

As the journalists delve deeper into the case, they get increasingly concerned with Rob’s mysterious past and the ethical dilemmas of his espionage. The boundaries between truth and lies become blurred. Is Rob a truth-seeking whistleblower or a cynical manipulator? And who controls the narrative? As the journalists attempt to uncover the truth, they realize that they themselves are caught in a web of lies and that Rob’s story may be hiding a threat bigger than anyone could have imagined.

Director
Håvard Bustnes

Director of Photography
Amy Newstead

Cut
Torkel Gjørv

Sound
Håvard Bustnes

Music
Nils Kacirek

Sound Design
Kai Storck

Mixing
Sascha Heiny

Color Correction
Bernie Greiner

Graphics
Studio Fritz Gnad

Production Management Beetz Brothers
Marcel Rechten

Herstellungsleitung Beetz Brothers
Ferdinand Freising

Postproduction Management
Alexander Steyer (Beetz Brothers)
Jonas Hannestad (Indie Film)

Producer
Silje Poulsen Viki (Indie Film)
Nele Thumser (Beetz Brothers)
Eva Fouquet (Beetz Brothers)

Executive Producer
Carsten Aanonson
Håvard Bustnes
Reinhardt Beetz
Kat Mansoor

Production Management NDR
Frederik Keunecke

Assistant Editor NDR/arte
Kristina Madejczyk 

Commissioning Editor NDR/arte
Kathrin Bronnert

Editorial Management NDR/arte
Claudia Cellarius

Billions Mike
Trailer

Produced by

  • beetz
  • indie film
  • up north

In co-production with

  • ndr

In association with

  • arte

Supported by

  • nordmedia