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Silent Friend
2025 film by Ildikó Enyedi From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Silent Friend (German: Stille Freundin) 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.[1]
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.
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Cast
- Tony Leung Chiu-wai as Dr. Tony Wong
- Léa Seydoux as Alice Sauvage
- Luna Wedler as Grete
- Enzo Brumm as Hannes
- Sylvester Groth as Anton
- Yun Huang as Jule
- Martin Wuttke
- Johannes Hegemann as Thomas
- Rainer Bock
- Marlene Burow as Gundula
- Jan Hofmann
Production
Tony Leung Chiu-wai was announced as a cast member in August 2023; director Ildikó Enyedi stated that she wrote Leung's role specifically for him.[2] Silent Friend marks Leung's second film outside of Asia, after Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), and his first European production.[3]
In November 2023, the film received a €500,000 production grant from Eurimages.[4] The Hesse Film Office awarded the film €550,000.[5][6]
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.[5][6] Filming also took place in Cologne.[1]
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Release
Films Boutique acquired the international sales rights to the film in May 2024.[7] The film was presented at the Cannes Film Market in May 2025.[8] A trailer was released on 4 September 2025.[9] The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2025,[10] followed by its North American premiere on 9 September at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.[11] It will also be screened at the BFI London Film Festival.[12]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 12 critics' reviews are positive.[13]
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."[14]
Accolades
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References
External links
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