Silent Friend

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 unusual 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.

This beguiling surprise from the Venice film festival is a true gift and a wonder to be enjoyed on the big screen. Not one minute in Hungarian filmmaker Idilkó Enyedi's convincing call to understanding plants isn't interesting. Not one shot isn't sublime. Not one transition from an era to another isn't the smoothest and most meaningful possible, in a way that a trailer would never fully honour (glory to editor Károly Szalai!). A truly extraordinary experiment indeed.

This film is eligible for the Audentia Award.

This screening is supported by the Goethe-Institut Irland.