At the heart of a German university grows a majestic ginkgo tree, its lifespan measured in centuries. As the years pass, the distinguished plant bears witness to the private lives of those who seek shade under its boundless branches, forming a nexus that connects three generations of students and teachers across time and space. In 2020, a visiting neuroscientist conducts a series of experiments into the possibilities of botanical consciousness. In 1972, a young student is profoundly changed by studying the behavior of a simple geranium. And in 1908, the university’s first female student’s photographic inquiries reveal sacred patterns of the universe hidden within the humblest of plants. Over time, each is transformed by the quiet, enduring, and mysterious power of nature.  

From Ildikó Enyedi, the director of Academy Award-nominated On Body and Soul, comes Silent Friend, an epic, awe-inspiring exploration of the natural world. Featuring an ensemble cast that includes Tony Leung, Léa Seydoux and Venice Prize-winning newcomer Luna Wedler, Enyedi crafts a thoughtful meditation on the essential question of what it means to be human.

"It is a work that lingers with you and makes you extra mindful that, even when no one else is in sight, life is all around you." - Dillon Gonzales, InSession Film

"Hardly anything is overdone here and, in one essential way, Enyedi is also making the case for movies themselves as phenomena to protect and treasure: ecosystems of light, texture, wonder and nourishment." - Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

"Enyedi is a master stylist who knows how to create a certain mood, mixing visual poetry with deadpan humor, and big ideas with quotidian foibles, in a film that explores our mysterious relationship with both the green world and one another." - Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter