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Silent Friend film image; person approaching a tall tree

Silent Friend

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On the grounds of a medieval German university town looms an imposing Ginkgo biloba, a tree whose longevity stands in marked contrast to three intimate, human-scaled stories. In 1908, the university’s first female student (Luna Wedler) gains admission into the prestigious botany department, confronting the sexism of both professors and peers. In 1972, amidst counterculture movements, a reserved student (Enzo Brumm) finds his attention captured by a fellow housemate and the geranium plant she studies. In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a neuroscientist from Hong Kong (Tony Leung Chiu-Wai) secures the help of a renowned botanist (Léa Seydoux) for an experiment on the old ginkgo tree.

In Hungarian writer-director Ildikó Enyedi’s unclassifiable film, the rhythms of non-human life supersede any human-centered drama. Formally audacious and texturally varied — its three sections are rendered in 35mm black-and-white, lush 16mm, and crisp digital film, respectively — Silent Friend is a singular meditation on how we connect to the natural world, and to each other.

 

Marcello Mastroianni Best Young Actor (Luna Wedler), Venice 2025

 

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm, Sylvester Groth, Martin Wuttke, Léa Seydoux

Credits
Country of Origin

Gemany/France/Hungary

Year

2025

Language

In German and English with English subtitles

Links
18+
147 min
Art, Music & Photography Award Winners Drama Women Directors
Pandora Film, Inforg - M\&M Film, Galatée Films, Rediance Films,

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Executive Producer

Allons Voir

Producer

Reinhard Brundig, Mónika Mécs, Nicolas Elghozi, Meng Xie

Screenwriter

Ildikó Enyedi

Cinematography

Gergely Pálos

Editor

Károly Szalai

Production Design

Imola Láng

Original Music

Gábor Keresztes, Kristóf Kelemen

Ildikó Enyedi headshot

Ildikó Enyedi

Ildikó Enyedi is a Hungarian film director and screenwriter. Her 2017 film On Body and Soul won the Golden Bear at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival and went on to be nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award. She has directed eight feature films since 1989 including My Twentieth Century (1989), which won the Caméra d’Or in Cannes, and The Story of My Wife (2021), which was nominated for the Palme d’Or.

Filmography: Magic Hunter (1994); A Gyar (1995); Tamas and Juli (1997); Simon, the Magician (1999); On Body and Soul (2017); The Story of My Wife (2021)

Photo by Kery Kovacs

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