Enzo Brumm, Ildikó Enyedi and Luna Wedler (L-R)
Silent Friend claimed six awards in Venice with swiss actress Luna Wedler winning the Marcello Mastroianni Prize for best emerging actor at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival for her role in Hungarian director Ildikó Enyedi’s latest film, Csendes barát (Silent Friend).
During the awards ceremony on Saturday evening, L. Wedler thanked I. Enyedi for the opportunity to work together, calling her “an incredible woman” who inspires her “both as a woman and as a director.”
Born in 1999 in Zurich, Wedler made her film debut in Amateur Teens in 2015. She graduated from the Zurich Acting Academy in 2018 and gained popularity as the lead in Netflix’s Biohackers (2020). Silent Friend marks her second collaboration with Enyedi, following The Story of My Wife.
On the day of its world premiere, Silent Friend, produced with support from the National Film Institute (NFI), took home four independent awards at Venice:
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The FIPRESCI Prize for best film in the main competition,
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The Interfilm Award, given for promoting interfaith dialogue,
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The Student Jury Prize for outstanding artistic value and distinctive visual style,
- Best Film – CinemaSara Prize, for its artistic qualities.
- Edipo Re Inclusion and Sustainability Award,
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And the Green Drop Award, which recognizes films highlighting ecological values and sustainability.
According to the filmmakers, the awards were accepted in person, and the festival’s main prizes, including the Golden Lion, were to be announced Saturday evening.
Fact
Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend draws a sensitive and philosophical parallel between humans and plants. The film tells three separate stories, each capturing a tentative encounter between a human and a plant—moments when two radically different forms of perception briefly connect. Silent Friend stars Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, recipient of the Venice Film Festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023, alongside Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm, Léa Seydoux, Johannes Hegemann, Sylvester Groth, Rainer Bock, and Martin Wuttke. The screenplay was written by Enyedi herself.
While described as lyrical, the director emphasized the film’s subtle humor was also appreciated during its Venice screenings. “It is a lyrical work, but the audience understood its deepest layers by responding to the humor. That means they got it,” said Enyedi ahead of the award ceremony.
She added that humor plays an essential role in storytelling. “A laugh is a moment of understanding—when one grasps something not through logic but through wonder. That joy, that surprise, brings people closer.”
The film was produced by German Pandora Film, French Galatée Films, and Hungarian Inforg-M&M Film in co-production with Chinese Redience. Its total budget reached €10.5 million. Hungarian distribution will be handled by Mozinet, with a European theatrical release planned for the first half of 2026.
Reflecting on the film’s theme, I. Enyedi said the entire European cultural tradition speaks of the separation and longing for reconnection between humans and nature. “We often feel proud of being above nature, or long to return to it. But this perceived superiority leaves us lonely.”
“If we lower ourselves a bit and see ourselves as one among many—and not as a downgrade—life becomes more bearable, less neurotic, and perhaps we become less destructive to our environment.” She emphasized that Silent Friend is a call to awareness: “Many complex beings live on this Earth. Even if we do not perceive the world as they do, they are here, observing us, with their own opinions.”
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Via MTI; Featured image: Photo: Nemzeti Filmintézet Facebook
The post Six Awards and a Rising Star: Ildikó Enyedi’s Silent Friend Shines in Venice appeared first on Hungary Today.
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