Silent Friend (MINT Chinese New Year Pop-up)

Name: Silent Friend (MINT Chinese New Year Pop-up)
Genre: Drama
Released: 2026-02-14
Duration: 2 h 25 min
Cast: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Léa Seydoux, Luna Wedler

Screening as part of <a href="https://www.filmhouse.org.uk/mint-chinese-new-year-pop-up">MINT Chinese New Year Pop-up 2026</a>. 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 unexpected 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. Ildiko Enyedi, awards winning and Oscar nominated director, started her career as a concept and media artist. Her first feature film, My XX. Century won the Golden Camera for best debut in Cannes, Magic Hunter competed in Venice, followed by Tamas and Juli (Venice special screening) and Simon the Magician (Locarno, special prize). ★★★★★ 2025 82nd Venice Film Festival – Main Competition ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 2025 82nd Venice Film Festival – FIPRESCI Prize winner ★★★★★ ★★★★★ 2025 50th Toronto International – Official Selection ★★★★★ Curator’s Note from MINT CFF A fallen leaf in late autumn initiates a meditation on plant sentience. Through the textures of cinematography and technology, Silent Friend captures the subtle interconnections that have endured for centuries like ancient proverbs. This quiet nexus, lingering beyond human perception, has long resided within us——and even between the human, the organic, and the inorganic. The Eastern philosophical notion of "To see a world in a flower" is transmuted here into a transcendence of anthropocentrism. As humanity finds itself besieged by both physical and digital walls, the film invites us to listen to the breath of another existence. This gesture of mutual observation not only realises a poetic connection between humanity and nature, but also serves as a potent response to the question: "What is cinema?" Even though art is diluted by the mundanity of life and technology, cinema remains the resonance beyond language. In the silence of all things, the harmony emerges. (written by Simyun Li, translated by Jiayi Zhao) This screening is part of Chinese New Year Cinema Pop-Up presented by MINT Chinese Film Festival, which is supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, awarding funding on behalf of Screen Scotland and the BFI National Lottery.DramaPT2H25MTBC2026-02-14

Tony Leung Chiu-wai

Léa Seydoux

Luna Wedler

Ildikó Enyedi

Xie Meng

Reinhard Brundig

Nicolas Elghozi

Silent Friend (MINT Chinese New Year Pop-up)"Silent Friend (MINT Chinese New Year Pop-up)"

Showtimes

February 14, 3:00 pm