The film follows Nikola, a farmer unable to sell his land due to harsh government policies, whose family leaves in search of a better future. Alone, he rescues a wounded white stork he names Silyan. Their quiet companionship emerges through simple rituals: feeding, tending, and watching flocks in flight. Intertwined is a folk tale of a boy turned into a stork after quarreling with his father, mirroring Nikola’s own distance from his son.
Tamara Kotevska
Born in 1993, in Prilep (North Macedonia). She won the Best Balkan Film award at the Tirana International Documentary Film Festival with her graduation documentary ‘Studants’, supported by Trice Films and the Faculty of Dramatic Arts - Skopje. She co-directed with Ljubomir Stefanov the short film ‘Lake of Apples’ (2017) and the documentary feature ‘Honeyland’ (2019), which won three awards at Sundance and the Green Spike at Seminci before receiving two Oscar nominations (for Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary). In 2020, she directed ‘The Walk’ on her own, and ‘The Tale of Sylian’ (2025) had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it won an award before participating in the Toronto Film Festival.
DIRECTOR
Tamara Kotevska
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Jean Dakar
EDITOR
Martin Ivanov
SOUND
Alekdandar Proti, Darko Boskovski
MUSIC
Joe Wilson Davies, HunOuk Park
PRODUCTION
The Corner Shop, Concordia Studio, Ciconia Film, Anna Hashmi, Casey Meurer, Lizzie Fox, Davis Guggenheim, Laurene Powell-Jobs, Tamara Kotevska, Jean Dakar
PRODUCTION COMPANY
The Corner Shop, Concordia Studio, Ciconia Film
FEATURING
Nikola Conev, Jana Coneva, Aleksandra Coneva, Ilina Coneva, Aleksandar Conev, Ile Stojkovski, Stojco Filipov
