The Tale of Silyan

North Macedonia, harvest season. Farmer Nikola and his wife Jana live in harmony with their land, nature, and each other. Life is good until their idyll is disrupted by the harsh reality of new government measures. The couple finds themselves unable to sell their crops. When Nikola’s family leaves in search of a better life abroad, he is forced to take a job at a landfill. Here he meets Silyan, a white stork abandoned by his family due to a broken wing. As Nikola cares for the injured bird and helps it recover, an unexpected friendship develops between man and animal. A bond that becomes so strong that Nikola decides to plow his land back into fertile ground. 

In The Tale of Silyan, Nikola's life remarkably coincides with a 17th-century Macedonian folk tale about Silyan, a farmer’s son who is cursed by his father and thus transformed into a lonely stork. The result is a deeply moving, intimate documentary about the quiet strength of connection, resilience, and hope, in which director Tamara Kotevska also addresses themes such as climate change and economic migration. 

Kotevska, known for the Oscar-nominated Honeyland, dazzles again with The Tale of Silyan through her signature rich storytelling and enchanting, warm imagery. Her documentary had a beautiful premiere in Venice with many positive reviews from the international press.