Ildikó Enyedi's Film 'Silent Friend' Explores Plant Memory Through Three Time Periods

Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi has directed a new cinematic work titled 'Silent Friend' that centers on a century-old ginkgo tree located in a German university park. The narrative interweaves three distinct historical periods. In the 21st century, a Hong Kong professor stranded abroad during the COVID-19 pandemic initiates an unusual experiment. During the 1970s, a young man becomes fascinated by a somewhat hippie student who studies whether plants respond to human presence using a geranium. In 1908, a woman named Greta becomes the first female student admitted to the university. Feeling isolated in the male-dominated campus, she finds work with a photographer instead of learning in lecture halls. The contemporary segments of the film incorporate digital imagery, video cameras, and Zoom conversations, while the earlier timeline is presented in black and white, referencing the prehistory of screens and the origins of photography. Enyedi draws parallels between photographic processes and photosynthesis, suggesting both the photographer and the tree work to leave an imprint through time—one on paper, the other on living matter. The film examines themes of image memory, plant consciousness, and the chemical origins of photography, connecting scientific inquiry with poetic exploration.