The Tale of Silyan
The Tale of Silyan is a 2025 Macedonian documentary film produced, written and directed by Tamara Kotevska. It follows Macedonian farmer Nikola Conev and his family in the backdrop of the country's economic instability. While Conev forms a bond with an injured white stork, his daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren, and wife move to Germany in search of better life.
The film had its world premiere out of competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2025, it was theatrically released in North Macedonia on September 22, and in the United States on November 28 by Picturehouse.
It was selected as the Macedonian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.
Summary
Somewhere in North Macedonia, Nikola and Jana Conev are a poor farmer couple who grow potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, and tobacco. The white storks in the area form a symbiotic relationship with the farmers as the fertile land offers prey for the birds, which construct their nests on the village rooftops. The country, one of the few in the continent which is not a part of the European Union, faces looming economical instability. This causes markets to shrink and prices for crops to hit an all time low, depriving the Conevs and their fellow farmers of income as they are unable to sell their products. Protesting against the government's policies, the farmers block city roads with their rotten crops. While many of the villagers move away in search of a better life, Nikola refuses to leave the land he inherited from his family, and is still shaken by his eldest son's departure a few years ago.Nikola's daughter Ana decides to immigrate to Germany along with her husband and their children. Caught off-guard by the high cost of living, Ana begs for her mother's help. Jana also moves to Germany, leaving Nikola behind. Nikola puts up all of his family's land for sale, but no one is interested in buying. Spring arrives, and the storks return to the village to reproduce. With many of the farmers and villagers having moved away, the storks have begun scavenging through garbage at the landfill. Needing income, Nikola takes a job as a bulldozer driver at the landfill. One day, Nikola comes across an injured white stork, who he names Silyan after the character from a local folk tale. He saves the bird and forms an unexpected bond. Nikola's financial difficulties continue as he and other remaining farmers resort to burning some of the crops to receive insurance payouts. Nikola and his friend also resort to searching abandoned homes with a metal detector in the hope of finding hidden gold. Desperate, Nikola contemplates leaving Macedonia. Silyan begins to recover, and as he does, so does Nikola's resolve. Rather than abandon his home, he resolves to plow his land once again and remain self-sufficient. Jana eventually reunites with Nikola, and Silyan finds a mate.
Throughout the film, the narrator tells of the Macedonian folk tale of Silyan, a boy whose own father curses him for wanting to leave the village. A bolt of lightning strikes Silyan, transforming him into a white stork. Unaware of what has happened to Silyan, the cursed child joins the other white storks to survive, even migrating with them. When spring comes, the storks fly back home and Silyan is taken in by his heartbroken father, who does not know that the bird is his long-lost child.
Participants
- Nikola Conev
- Jana Coneva
- Aleksandar Conev
- Aleksandra Coneva
- Ilina Coneva
- Stojco Filipov
- Ile Stojkovski
Production
Concordia Studio financed the film, with Davis Guggenheim and Laurene Powell Jobs among the executive producers.Release
The Tale of Silyan had its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on August 29, 2025. The film was announced as Best Film in the Cinema and Arts Award competition. It was also screened at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2025.In September 2025, the film was selected as the Macedonian entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards. The film premiered in North Macedonia on September 22, 2025.
In September 2025, National Geographic Documentary Films acquired worldwide distribution rights to the documentary, planning to release it theatrically and then on Disney+ following a festival run. The trailer and official poster for the film were released on October 30, 2025. In October 2025, Picturehouse was announced as the film's North American theatrical distributor, with Dogwoof distributing internationally. The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 28, 2025. It was broadcast on National Geographic on January 8, 2026, and was available on Disney+ and Hulu on January 9, 2026.