Silent Friend film explores a century of history via a Marburg botanical garden

Ildikó Enyedi’s new film, ‘Silent Friend’, explores a century of human experience through three distinct narratives centered around a ginkgo biloba tree in the botanical garden of the University of Marburg, Germany.

The film, which won the FIPRESCI prize at the Venice Film Festival and earned Luna Wedler the Marcello Mastroianni Award, utilizes different cinematic styles for each era: 35mm black and white for 1908, 16mm grain for 1972, and digital for 2020.

In 1908, the story follows Grete, one of the first female students at the university, as she navigates gender discrimination. In 1972, Hannes connects with nature through a student activist. In 2020, neuroscientist Tony Wong, played by Tony Leung Chiu-wai, arrives from Hong Kong to study infant brain activity but finds his research redirected toward the ginkgo tree due to the COVID-19 pandemic.