Marburg in film fever: Silent Friend celebrates its world premiere in Venice!

Marburg in film fever: Silent Friend celebrates its world premiere in Venice!

The highly anticipated film will be released on September 5, 2025“Silent Friend”, directed by the Hungarian directorIldikó Enyedi, its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. The film is an international production and impresses with a variety of locations, most of which were shot in Marburg, Hesse. Marburg has established itself as an important film location in recent years and in 2024 even became the first Hessian city to have the label“film-friendly location”excellent.

“Silent Friend” is one of the 21 nominated films competing for the coveted Golden Lion. Shine in the lead roleTony Leung Chiu Wai,Lea SeydouxandLuna Wedler. Dr. Tina Kaiser from the Philipps University of Marburg accompanied the film with dramaturgical research and arranged for students to participate. Your contributions significantly enriched the film.

Filming in Marburg

Filming took place in April and May 2024 at several prominent locations in Marburg, including the Old Botanical Garden, the university library and the chemistry department. Ellen Thun, responsible for coordinating filming at the university, gave the team access to numerous historical buildings, especially the magnificent Schäfer Building. These backdrops not only add aesthetic appeal to the film, but also contribute to the narrative depth.

The film is about the relationship between humans and nature, embodied by a ginkgo tree in the botanical garden of Philipps University. This tree is presented as a silent witness to the changes in the lives of three protagonists in different time periods. During the 2020 coronavirus pandemic, a neuroscientist from Hong Kong observed how the tree became the backdrop for his experiment on the cognitive development of babies. The stories of a student in 1972 and the university's first female student in 1908, who used her camera to discover hidden patterns in plants, are also told.

Importance of the Ginkgo Tree

The ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba), which plays a starring role in the film, is considered a symbol of longevity and has a history of over 300 million years. Known from Chinese culture, the tree embodies hope and peace. Its ability to survive is also evident in its famous story when a ginkgo tree in Hiroshima survived the atomic bomb explosion while most other plants and animals in the area were destroyed. The tree has much more to offer than just visual beauty.

Ginkgo is widespread in Japan and the USA due to its resistance to environmental pollutants. In medicine, its leaves, seeds, roots and bark are valued for their healing properties. Ginkgo extracts are used to treat various diseases, such as improving brain function and relieving symptoms of mental illness. These versatile aspects of the ginkgo plant are impressively processed in the film.

The German cinema release of“Silent Friend”is scheduled for November 13, 2025, with the Hessen premiere taking place in Marburg before the regular start. With funding of 550,000 euros from the Hessian film funding agency “Hessen Film & Medien”, this film became one of the outstanding projects that underline Marburg's growing importance as a film location.

To find out more about the film, please visit uni-marburg.de for detailed information while hessenschau.de offers further interesting aspects about the premiere. You can find background information on the meaning of the ginkgo tree here mystischerrabe.de.