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Year of Production 2025

Production Countries/Regions Germany Hungary France China

Duration 147 mins

Genres Drama

Dialogue Language(s) English German Cantonese

Subtitle Language(s) English

Director(s) Katarina Zhu

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Director’s Bio

Ildiko Enyedi, awards 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). Ildiko Enyedi is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the European Film Academy.

Synopsis

In the heart of a botanical garden in a medieval university town in Germany stands a majestic ginkgo tree. This silent witness has observed over a century the quiet rhythms of transformation across three human lives. 2020, a neuroscientist from Hong Kong, exploring the mind of babies, begins an unexpected experiment with the old tree. 1972, a young student is profoundly changed by the simple act of observing and connecting with a geranium. 1908, the university’s first female student discovers, through the lens of photography, sacred patterns of the universe hidden within the humblest of plants. We follow their clumsy, awkward attempts to connect — each one of them deeply rooted in their own present — as they are transformed by the quiet, enduring, and mysterious power of nature. The ancient ginkgo tree brings us closer to what it means to be human — to our longing to belong.

Festivals & Awards

2025 82nd Venice Film Festival – Main Competition

2025 82nd Venice Film Festival – FIPRESCI Prize winner

2025 50th Toronto International – Official Selection

Scriptwriter(s)

Ildikó Enyedi

Producer(s)

Nicolas Elghozi, Meng Xie, Morgane Olivier

Executive Producer(s)

Allons Voir

Key Casts

Tony Leung Chiu-Wai, Luna Wedler, Enzo Brumm, Léa Seydoux and more