When everyone he loves moves on, one man stays, and finds unexpected solace in the most unlikely of companions. Tender, majestic and deeply humane, it's a film about what we risk losing when the world moves too fast.
A stunning piece of cinema, a magical docu-fable which is sure to enchant audiences wherever it plays.
The Tale of Silyan 2025
The latest work from Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland) tells the story of a Macedonian farmer suffering through an economic slump as the small village his family has called home for generations is slowly abandoned.
As his children and wife follow suit, moving to Germany to start a new life, he initially plans to follow them after selling the farm, before finding an injured stork and deciding to stay to nurture it back to health. The deep connection between man and nature is explored as he forms a bond with the stork and ponders if leaving the family farm for a life in the city is worth it.
Filmed in rural Macedonia and filled with majestic shots of landscapes and wildlife, Tale of Silyan takes inspiration from the folktale of the same name and intertwines it with a narrative about a world changing too fast. As economic disparity and inequality grow deeper, the importance of our relationship with nature often loses out to the rat race of modernity. In contrast, Tamara Kotevska focuses on the connections that make our time on earth worthwhile.
– Jordan Salomen