Silent Friend
Award-winning director Ildikó Enyedi delivers another mesmerizing visual tale, set across three time periods at a historic German university, united by a gingko tree.
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Tuesday, May 12, 2026
- Limited Availability
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- Matinee
Thursday, May 14, 2026
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- Matinee
Silent Friend, directed by Ildikó Enyedi (Oscar-nominated for On Body and Soul), amusingly earned the nickname "the tree movie" at its Venice Film Festival premiere last fall, though this label hardly captures its enchanting nature. Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize, this poetic film unfolds across three time periods at a historic German university in Marburg, with loosely connected narratives anchored by the presence of a single ginkgo tree.
In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, visiting professor Dr. Tony Wong, played by the legendary Tony Leung Chiu-wa, finds himself stranded on campus amid anti-Chinese hostility. In 1972, Hannes, a shy farm boy turned student, agrees to care for a classmate's plant experiments, driven by his attraction to her. In the early 1900s, Grete, the university's first female science graduate student, faces sexism in class and seeks solace in the photography studio. Bound by the ginkgo tree and intertwined with distinct visual identities–digital, textured 16mm, and monochrome 35mm–Enyedi offers a mesmerizing reflection on nature's enduring impact and the interconnectedness of human lives, highlighting her mastery as a visual poet in Hungarian cinema.
—SuJ'n Chon
- Director: Ildikó Enyedi
- Principal Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm, Lea Seydoux
- Country: Germany, Hungary
- Year: 2025
- Running Time: 146 min.
- Producer: Reinhard Brundig, Monika Mecs, Nicolas Elghozi, Morgane Olivier, Meng Xie
- Screenplay: Ildiko Enyedi
- Cinematographers: Gergely Palos
- Editors: Karoly Szalai
- Music: Gabor Keresztes, Kristof Kelemen
- Awards: Venice Film Festival 2025 (FIPRESCI Critics' Prize, Green Drop Award), Valladolid Film Festival 2025 (Silver Spike), Chicago International Film Festival 2025 (Silver Hugo: Best Cinematography)
- Filmography: The Story of My Wife (2021), On Body and Soul (2017), Simon, the Magician (1999), Tamas and Juli (1997), A Gyar (1995), Magic Hunter (1994), My 20th Century (1989)
- Language: German, English
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- US Distributor: 1-2 Special