Silent Friend


Silent Friend is a 2025 film written and directed by Ildikó Enyedi. Starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Léa Seydoux, Luna Wedler, Sylvester Groth and Martin Wuttke, it follows a single tree through three loosely connected stories in different eras: 1908, 1972, and 2020.
The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2025, where it won the FIPRESCI Prize and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Wedler.

Cast

was announced as a cast member in August 2023; director Ildikó Enyedi stated that she wrote Leung's role specifically for him. Silent Friend marks Leung's second film outside of Asia, after Shang-Chi and [the Legend of the Ten Rings], and his first European production.
In November 2023, the film received a €500,000 production grant from Eurimages. The awarded the film €550,000.
Principal photography began in April 2024. The film was primarily shot in Marburg, specifically at the Alter Botanischer Garten Marburg at the University of Marburg. Filming also took place in Cologne.

Release

Films Boutique acquired the international sales rights to the film in May 2024. The film was presented at the Cannes Film Market in May 2025. A trailer was released on 4 September 2025. The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2025, followed by its North American premiere on 9 September at the 2025 [Toronto International Film Festival]. It was also screened at the BFI London Film Festival. In November 2025, Silent Friend screened at the 46th Cairo International Film Festival where Ildikó Enyedi received a lifetime achievement Award and presented a masterclass titled "Poetry of reality".

Reception

Critical response

Stephanie Bunbury of Deadline wrote that the film is "beautiful, elusive and peppered with provocative nuggets about the nature of life and our place in it."

Accolades