Silent Friend

Director: Ildikó Enyedi

Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm és Léa Seydoux

In the heart of a botanical garden in a medieval university town in Germany stands a majestic ginkgo tree. This silent witness has observed over a century the quiet rhythms of transformation across three human lives.

2020, a neuroscientist from Hong Kong, exploring the mind of babies, begins an unexpected experiment with the old tree.
1972, a young student is profoundly changed by the simple act of observing and connecting with a geranium.
1908, the university’s first female student discovers, through the lens of photography, sacred patterns of the universe hidden within the humblest of plants.
We follow their clumsy, awkward attempts to connect — each one of them deeply rooted in their own present — as they are transformed by the quiet, enduring, and mysterious power of nature. The ancient ginkgo tree brings us closer to what it means to be human — to our longing to belong.