Silent Friend
Director: Ildikó Enyedi Run Time: 147 min. Release Year: 2026 Language: German
Starring: Enzo Brumm, Léa Seydoux, Luna Wedler, Sylvester Groth, Tony Leung Chiu-wai
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 gains admission into the prestigious botany department, confronting the sexism of both professors and peers. In 1972, amidst counterculture movements, a reserved student 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 secures the help of a renowned botanist for an experiment on the old ginkgo tree.
“With a vibrating audio palette and crisply edited finesse, ‘Silent Friend’ becomes a sensuous immersive experience, flitting between observational instances of periods and characters, pollinating the audience with characteristics of its players with just enough information to keep desiring more.” ~ Nicholas Bell, IONCINEMA