Silent Friend

A gentle, multi-generational tale of academia and more-than-human kinship, Silent Friend invites us to lean in and wonder: what if the plants around us can sense our presence?

At a German university, three lives across different eras brush against the same ancient ginkgo tree. A pioneering female student in the early 20th century fights for her place in the botany department; in the 1970s, a shy student stumbles into mind-bending geranium research; and in the present day, a Hong Kong neuroscientist (Tony Leung), stranded during the Covid pandemic, turns to the ginkgo as both research subject and confidant, engaging in an academic back-and-forth with Léa Seydoux. Crafted in distinct visual styles that perfectly embody each period, Silent Friend is both thought-provoking and serene. The film celebrates kindness in human encounters and the quiet joys and shared hopes that grow from marvellous scientific curiosity.

– Saulė Savanevičiūtė