A century-old ginkgo tree bears witness to three stories across generations – of loneliness, awakening, encounters, love and connection.
Trees live on a different timescale from other beings on Earth. Some live for 100 years; some stand for 1,000; some may even be older than we expect. They are simply there, witnessing all changes and stories, while holding memories, wisdom and history, like a gentle grandmother / grandfather, soft and steady. They speak no words, yet they simply witness, simply stay, simply accompany.
Following the screening of Silent Friend, there is an online sharing session with director Ildikó Enyedi, Hong Kong star Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and our KFBG teacher Dr Claire Elouard. From their respective professional perspectives, they share how they understand the ‘silent friend’ in their own lives or work, and explore related themes.
To deepen your experience of the film, we invite you to connect with trees in person by joining one of Claire’s workshops, either before or after the screening. If you register for both the film screening and one of Claire’s workshops at the same time, you will receive an additional HK$100 discount on top of the early-bird offer for Claire’s 2026 Autumn Series workshops. Places for this special offer are limited. We warmly invite you to become friends with our ‘silent friends’ at KFBG.
If you wish to learn more about Claire’s workshop, click the relevant link below,
- [2026 Autumn Limited Events] A Day in Nature at Ark Eden｜ Introductory One-day Workshop
- [2026 Autumn Limited Events] Honouring the Trees｜One-day Workshop
About the film
Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at the Venice Film Festival and the Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival, acclaimed Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi extends the poetic exploration of perception from her earlier work On Body and Soul. With Hong Kong icon Tony Leung Chiu-wai making his European film debut, the film breathes life into a gentle, luminous story: a quiet, ancient ginkgo tree on a university campus watches over three eras, weaving a moving poem about humanity’s deep connection with nature.
In 1908, a gifted young woman striving to uncover the sacred laws of nature bravely breaks through gender barriers. In the 1970s, a shy student tenderly cares for a potted geranium out of love, unexpectedly sensing a mysterious response between living beings. During the Covid-19 lockdown, a neuroscientist from Hong Kong finds himself stranded on campus and begins to study the spiritual exchange between humans and trees. In the ginkgo’s shifting shadows and annual rings, he discovers an eternal witness that transcends time, awakening to the spirituality of life in stillness.
Trailer Link
Director's Note – Ildikó Enyedi
This is a film made by humans (a very open-minded and dedicated team) for their fellow humans (the audience). We humbly acknowledge, and openly accept, the limits of our own perception. Through the light and sound waves that human eyes and ears can capture, we attempt to depict a world that extends beyond these sensory boundaries. We recognise that humans are not the default centre of this world; the world we inhabit is just one among many equally valid worlds.
What does it feel like to be a tree? We cannot know, nor do we presume to reconstruct it. What we choose to show instead is human curiosity, and those imperfect yet moving efforts to forge connections – to acknowledge the existence of the ‘other’, and to accept that, in the other’s eyes, we too are that mysterious ‘other’. Drawing on more than a century of fragments from a university botanical garden, the film offers the audience a vantage point. This place (‘universitas’) has, from its beginnings, symbolised humanity’s boundless curiosity and the very heart of science.
In an era when science is questioned and attacked, we hope not only to draw attention to the importance of science, but also to reveal the beauty of scientific inquiry and the innocent, bold power that animates it. It is a power that can guide us down from the unsettling heights atop the pyramid of civilization, back to a more fitting place: to become part of the world, coexisting as equals with other forms of life.
Online Sharing Guest Speakers
Ildikó Enyedi
Ildikó Enyedi, award-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). After a long absence, while she made shorts and worked with HBO, she returned to feature films with On Body and Soul (Berlinale, Golden Bear 2017/Oscar Nomination) and The Story of My Wife (Cannes Competition 2021). Among others, she served on the main jury in Berlin (1990, 2021) and Venice (2018) and was jury president of shorts in Cannes (2024). Enyedi is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the European Film Academy.
Tony Leung Chiu-wai
Tony Leung Chiu-wai is considered one of Asia’s most successful and internationally recognised actors. He has won many international acting prizes, including the Cannes Film Festival award for Best Actor for his performance in Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love (2000) and has worked further with him in films including Chungking Express (1994), Happy Together (1997), and The Grandmaster (2013). He also appeared in three Venice Film Festival Golden Lion-winning films, including A City of Sadness (1989) by Hsiao-Hsien Hou, Cyclo (1995) by Anh Hung Tran and Lust, Caution (2007) by Ang Lee. Leung also stars in the Academy Award-nominated film Hero (2002) and more recently as Wenwu in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) by Destin Daniel Cretton.
Claire Elouard
Claire is of French nationality; she spent her early childhood in Senegal, Africa, and later studied in France. She has a master’s degree in biology and a PhD in vegetal ecology from universities in France. She conducted her field research for her PhD in Indonesia, and afterward spent eight years researching forest pathology and ecology in Malaysia and south India. Subsequently, she directed an environmental project in the Mumbai area of India, from 2001 to 2015. Since then she has been developing her workshops on ‘Energy of Nature’.
Claire has been deeply connected with nature since childhood. She later developed her perception of nature’s energy and deepened it by learning about the Hindu philosophy on the five elements and their corresponding chakras. She has been teaching people to communicate with nature and perceive its energy since 2004 in India, France, Belgium, Singapore, Malaysia, Mainland China, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan.
Date
24 October 2026 (Saturday)
Screening time
1:30pm
Duration
148 minutes (Film) + 60 minutes (Online Sharing)
Venue
PREMIERE ELEMENTS, ELEMENTS, Kowloon, HK
Language(s) of dialogue
German, English & Cantonese
Language(s) of subtitles：
English & Traditional Chinese
Online Sharing Language
English, with simple Cantonese translation
Target Audience
Aged 15 years and above
Capacity
276 participants (free seating)
Ticket Fee
HK$168 per person
Special Offer: Dr Claire’s 2026 Autumn Series Workshops
Enjoy an additional HK$100 discount on any of the upcoming nature workshops with Dr Claire when you register together with your Silent Friend film screening ticket. Register by 30 September 2026 to enjoy this offer on top of the applicable workshop early-bird discount. Early-bird discounts vary by workshop.
Notes
- Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis, with no reserved seating.
- The list of guest attendees is subject to updates at any time and may be adjusted on short notice due to unforeseen circumstances, without prior notice.
- Payment is non-refundable once registration is accepted, unless the event is cancelled by KFBG due to inclement weather, under-enrolment, or any other reason.
Application
Click HERE to apply on or before 18 October 2026.
Enquiry
Contact Ms Holly Ho at 2483 7111 / Ms Joanna Li at 2483 7112 during office hours or email holly.ho@kfbg.org.
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Related Links
- Kadoorie Earth Programme (KEP) is an initiative co-created by KFBG and its network of collaborators and volunteers. By integrating the various strands of KFBG’s nature conservation, sustainable living and holistic education programmes, it provides life-transforming learning experiences that reconnect people with themselves, each other and the rest of nature and enable them to cultivate resilience in the face of global challenges.
- Nature Art Programmes: Immerse yourself in silent contemplation of nature. Deepen your awareness of beauty and connect with nature through art. KFBG organises a variety of art workshops including Zentangle drawing, sketching and wood art, and exhibitions to guide participants, with or without artistic background, to create nature art.
- Nature Education Programmes: Become animal detectives and explore the mysteries of wild animals. Use different senses to discover the beauty of plants. Learn about the significance of forest, trees and even soils through field visits, experiments and woodwork, to reconnect with nature.
- Group Guided Tours: Led by trained environmental interpreters, the content includes experiential and hands-on activities. We encourage a passion for nature, conservation and ecology by nurturing an appreciation of the natural world.
- Corporate Programmes: Our Holistic Education Department staff can design either half-day or full-day nature education and art programmes for corporate staff or their family members based on specific needs. Leveraging the unique natural landscape and cultural ambiance of Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden, our activities may include guided tours, farm-to-table experiences, nature-based workshops, talks and art activities, aiming to promote understanding and practice of sustainable living for organisations.