Q&A WITH ILDIKÓ ENYEDI

Q. Silent Friend has three discrete chapters, but rather than stagger them you opt to cut back and forth between in a very fluid manner. How did you develop this structure for the film?

A. I wanted it to be a very fluid structure, I didn’t even want it to be perceived as a structure.

I try to find ways to evoke another perception of time and another way of being in the world that is not so narrative as the human one. It was very important for me to get close to the idea that there are beings on this planet who perceive the world, life, and time in a very different way. It also meant that the script wasn’t written as you see it in the cinema. I wrote the three different timelines separately, but we shot them very consciously in such a way that we could play freely with their similarities and differences in the editing room. That’s why the human stories are not connected with each other and all finish kind of hanging in the air.

Q. Each section also has its own look and feel. How did this play into your approach to cinematography?

A. This film wanted to communicate through sensory experiences, not dramaturgy. The texture of the sound and the texture of the image say much more about its central topics than the dialogue. That’s why we shot each bit in a way that underlined the focus of the period each person was living in. For example, black-and-white 35mm for Grete in 1908; in the ‘70s, with this whole generation experimenting with the limits of human consciousness, color 16mm; for 2020, the precision of digital to capture the loneliness and emptiness of the garden.

Q. How did you assemble the cast for this film, especially Tony Leung and Léa Seydoux?

A. I started with the unknown guy, Enzo Frumm, who plays Hannes. This was his first film and it took me a year to find him. He had this mixture between puppy-like curiosity, as well as the power and charm of a young man — a very peculiar mixture that I really needed.

Luna Wedler is a Swiss actress. She is young, but already quite experienced. I worked with her on my previous film, The Story of My Wife [2021]. She was absolutely brilliant. I remember when I cast her in that, I had casting meetings with nine actresses set up and she was the first one. Midway through the casting session, I offered her the role.

I wrote the role of Professor Wong for Tony Leung. I knew that if he didn’t accept the role, I would have to sit down and write a very different storyline for the 2020 section; I was so happy that he liked the approach and agreed to do the film. It was also because of him that I asked Léa Seydoux to join. She was the protagonist in The Story of My Wife and we created a strong bond between us working on that film. I knew I could ask her for this small role, which is really important. I needed the same power of screen presence as Tony; both actors are not just great actors, but they are known for how meaningful their presence is without words.

Q. What is the last film you saw and loved?

A. I am in New York for the release of Silent Friend and I’ve only had one free evening, so I walked down to the closest cinema and saw an independent film: Erupjca. It is so, so touchingly full of life, full of beauty, of ambition, and of inner freedom.

Last year, Sirāt was a very important film for me. Its minimalism and power, and how it summarizes today’s human condition, really swept me. I’ve seen it twice.

Q. Where is your favorite place to watch movies?

A. I am based in Budapest. There is an amazing tiny cinema there called Toldi ArtMozi. If anyone from the U.S. ever visits Budapest, they have to go there. Recently, the community gathered the money for a new projector and the image is great.

More and more cinemas are popping up in Europe. Repertory cinemas led by young people handpicking programs. How you use a cinema is changing in beautiful ways.

Q. Where have you found inspiration that people might not necessarily expect?

A. My first experiences with nature were not rooted around walking in the woods, but in literature and reading about the natural sciences as a teenager. Reading Goethe’s Werther. When Werther lays on the grass and is shocked by the richness and beauty of the living world. After that, with that sort of passion, I went out to the woods and discovered nature. All thanks to Goethe.

Q. What have you been reading lately?

A. I am finishing Michael Pollan’s new book A World Appears, which helps us amateurs have a better view of what is happening in the natural sciences today and how to find consciousness, starting from plants to animals to AI. He helps us make sense of what is happening in the world today. He helps us reframe our perception of the world.

Q. What image would you like to end this interview with?

A. Because I am in New York, I would like to choose a photo from New York street photographer Saul Leiter. While you might think that street photography is just about taking photos of what’s around, he is one of those photographers whose every photo shows you a piece of himself. You can view the world, this town, and his connection to both through his choices.

He uses very simple tools to be personal. It’s where he puts the focus. It’s always in a surprising place and says a lot about him. And, the composition, which is always surprising. It leads you into a labyrinth, where you have to discover the world that is proposed. His photos are not statements, they are invitations.