Ildikó Enyedi's 'Silent Friend', starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai, will represent Hungary in the international feature film category at the 99th Academy Awards, the National Film Institute (NFI) has announced.
Each country may submit one film for the category under Academy rules. Members of the film academy will select five nominees from the official submissions, which will compete for the Oscar for best international feature film. The nominees will be announced on January 21, 2027, and the Oscars ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on March 14.
The committee that selected Hungary's entry included cinematographer Mátyás Erdély, screenwriter-director Gyula Gazdag, film historian and critic Gábor Gelencsér, festival director Kristóf Horváth, young filmmakers' representative Ágnes Kocsis, and producer Sára László.
The NFI-supported film in which Lea Seydoux makes an appearance, had its world premiere at last year's Venice Film Festival and has been screening in Hungarian cinemas since January, distributed by Mozinet.
Enyedi, the Golden Bear-winning and Oscar-nominated director of On Body and Soul, draws a sensitive and philosophical parallel between the relationship of plants and humans in her latest film. The film, which won six awards at last year's Venice Film Festival, including the Marcello Mastroianni Award for best emerging actor for Luna Wedler, is an emotional journey through time, spiced with humor.
It has enjoyed success at film festivals around the world in recent months. The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) shortlisted it among the year's five best films for its Grand Prix. Local distributors in many countries have acquired the film, which is distributed in the United States by 1-2 Special.
At February's 45th Hungarian Film Week, Silent Friend won the award for best film, and its creators were also honored: Gergely Pálos won for best cinematography, Károly Szalai for best editing, and Mónika Mécs for best producer.
The film's screenplay was written by Ildikó Enyedi, with production design by Imola Lang, costume design by Peri De Braganca, music by Gabor Keresztes and Kristof Kelemen, VFX supervision by Béla Klingl, and casting in Hungary by Irma Ascher.
The film was co-produced by Germany’s Pandora Film, France's Galatee Films, and Hungary's Inforg-M&M Film, in cooperation with China's Rediance.
The lead producers are Reinhard Brundig and Mónika Mécs.
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