CHINA Edition
Hungarian Edition
After a long journey across international festivals and acclaim abroad, Silent Friend, the latest film by Ildikó Enyedi, finally premiered in Budapest on Monday, 26th January. The Hungarian premiere took place at Corvin Cinema with both Enyedi and the film’s lead actor, Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, in attendance with the rest of the crew. The event included an artist talk ahead of the screening organised by the National Film Institute’s Fast Forward Program, drawing an enthusiastic audience eager to hear from one of Hungary’s most internationally respected filmmakers and one of global cinema’s most revered actors.
The Budapest appearance marked a rare public event for Tony Leung, the Hong Kong screen legend whose career spans art-house classics, genre-defining Asian cinema, and Hollywood productions. His presence underscored the significance of Silent Friend not only as a Hungarian production, but as a truly international collaboration—one rooted in shared artistic values rather than commercial calculation.
The Silent Friend is a contemplative exploration of human connection with nature across time, centered on a majestic ginkgo tree in a German university botanical garden. Through the lives of three individuals—a neuroscientist in 2020 (Leung), a student in 1972, and the university’s first female student in 1908 (Luna Wedler) —the film traces their tentative, deeply human attempts to engage with the natural world. Each encounter, shaped by curiosity, observation, and the desire to belong, reveals how the quiet presence of plants can transform perception, understanding, and the self.
Enyedi, who won the Golden Bear at the 67th Berlinale in 2017 for On Body and Soul, spoke with Leung on stage about their cross-cultural working relationship and the creative process behind the film. Their conversation revealed a collaboration built on instinct, trust, and a mutual desire to step beyond familiar territory.
“I didn’t know Ildikó before,”
Leung told the audience,
“but I read the script, watched her films, and felt that we had to work together. Silent Friend is a beautiful, sensitive work, and I hope it encourages audiences to rethink their relationship with nature.”
That sensitivity has already resonated strongly with critics. At the 2025 Venice Film Festival, Silent Friend received the FIPRESCI Prize, awarded by the International Federation of Film Critics, recognizing it as the best film in competition—a distinction that further cemented Enyedi’s position among Europe’s leading auteurs.
For Tony Leung, the project arrived at a pivotal moment. After nearly three decades of working largely with familiar collaborators, particularly within Asian cinema, Silent Friend represented a conscious decision to leave behind creative security.
“At this point in my life, I felt I needed to step out of my comfort zone,” he explained. “For many years, I only worked with directors I was familiar with, because it felt secure. Silent Friend was different, especially working with a European crew.”
Leung has long been associated with director Wong Kar-wai, collaborating with him on seven films including Chungking Express (1994), 2046, and The Grandmaster. His performance in In the Mood for Love earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival in 2000 and helped define a new language of cinematic intimacy. Yet despite his iconic status, Leung spoke candidly about vulnerability, ego, and the importance of risk.
“For me, the director is always more important than the script,” he said. “If you give the same script to different people, you get completely different films.”
Before committing to Silent Friend, Leung immersed himself in Enyedi’s earlier work, including On Body and Soul and The Story of My Wife. What convinced him was not only her cinematic voice, but the personal impression she made when they met.
“From our first meeting, I had a very good impression of her,” he said. “I always follow my instinct, and I felt I could trust her. I believed I could work with her—that’s why I took the role.”
That trust translated directly into the working process. Leung contrasted the experience of Silent Friend with large-scale Hollywood productions, where time pressure and rigid structures often leave little room for exploration.
“Hollywood productions are very fast,” he noted. “You have to finish ten shots a day, and you cannot even change a word in the script. With Ildikó, although she gave me direction, she also gave me a very large playground to explore the character. She gave me a lot of space—and that made the experience much more fun.”
This creative freedom extended to some of the film’s most demanding scenes. Leung talked about ‘the lecture scene’ as the most challenging moment of the shoot. Filmed as a long master shot and repeated around forty times, the scene tested not only endurance but concentration and self-discipline.
“The lecture scene was the most difficult,” he said. “If you lose focus for a moment, you forget a line—and in front of fifty or sixty people, that really tests your ego. We shot it the old-fashioned cinematic way. It was exhausting.”
Despite the difficulty, Leung emphasized that these challenges were integral to what made the experience meaningful. Rather than efficiency or spectacle, Silent Friend demanded patience, precision, and emotional presence—qualities that align closely with Enyedi’s humanist filmmaking approach.
Overall, Leung described Silent Friend as a project that reaffirmed his belief in instinct, collaboration, and artistic risk.
“It was an honor to be part of this film,” he said. “It pushed me into unfamiliar territory, and that’s why it was meaningful.”
Leung’s appearance in Budapest also served as a reminder of the remarkable breadth of his career. In addition to his collaborations with Wong Kar-wai, he has appeared in three Golden Lion–winning films at the Venice Film Festival—Hou Hsiao-hsien’s A City of Sadness (1989), Tran Anh Hung’s Cyclo (1995), and Ang Lee’s Lust, Caution (2007). His filmography spans works such as Hero, God of Gamblers, the Infernal Affairs trilogy, and Marvel’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In 2024, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival, recognizing his enduring influence on world cinema.
With its Budapest premiere, Silent Friend now returns home to Hungarian audiences as a German-French-Hungarian co-production developed by Pandora Film (Germany), Galatée Films (France) and Inforg-M&M Film (Hungary), in collaboration with Chinese partner, Rediance and in co-production with ZDF/ARTE and Arte France Cinéma. Backed by a network of European film funds—including the National Film Institute Hungary (NFI), Eurimages, the French CNC, and several German regional film bodies—the film reflects a broad international partnership across creative and production roles. Distributed in Hungary by Mozinet, Silent Friend opens in Hungarian cinemas from 29th of January, inviting viewers to engage with its quiet, contemplative exploration of humanity, nature and connection across three timelines.
