December 6, 2025
FILM: THE TALE OF SILYAN
DIRECTED BY: TAMARA KOTEVSKA
RATING: 3 ½ out 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Storks have been fodder for the imagination for centuries. Some might still be telling their children that they bring us babies… The Tale of Silyan is a documentary which, in part, recounts a legendary story from the 17th Century about a boy who wanted to leave his farm, was then struck by lightning and turned into a stork. He then returns to the farm in his new form to be with his human family. While the film itself doesn’t attempt to depict this exact story, it does use the tale as a framing device for a lonely farmer in North Macedonia who develops a familial relationship with a wounded and equally alone stork. Tamara Kotevska, who was previously Oscar-nominated for her film Honeyland, directed the film and infuses it with joy, pain, warmth, outstanding camera work, and a strong desire to explore and depict the important relationship that exists between the animal kingdom and humans.
When the film opens, the camera is settled on the face of a stork that is receiving loving pets from a man. He and his wife run a farm which produces potatoes, peppers, watermelons, and lettuce. They appear very happy together in the expansive land. Also, nearby are dozens of storks. Apparently, this region has the largest number of the large long-beaked birds than anywhere else in the world. They live side by side with the farmers. The storks feed off the land where frogs, mice and other smaller creatures live.
There is a strife in the air though as the farmers, dealing with the market place and wholesalers, are finding they can’t sell what they grow. This leads to extreme hardships and a need to sell the land. It is at this point that the documentary’s narrative begins bringing the worlds of the storks and farmers closer together. If the land is sold, what happens to the storks? How do they eat and survive?
Kotevska’s film demonstrates how intertwined these lives are. We see the storks attempting to find food in dump sites and other land that is being destroyed for insurance money. As the farmer’s family leaves to make money elsewhere and the storks must also look elsewhere for food, the farmer and one wounded stork remain. Their bond becomes the heart of the film. Kotevska shows how the farmer and his close buddies attempt to take care of sick and dying storks. There is a real respect for nature here. Each needs the other and we see how they survive together.
The film is beautifully shot with unobtrusive cameras and drones which record what is happening on the farm and on the high above stork nests. Often they capture some very private moments within the farmer’s family as they face the reality of their situation. As such, the film plays more like a fictional film than a documentary. The only outside voice we hear is that of a narrator who is telling the tale of Silyan. It’s interesting to hear how the current story relates to the legend. Perhaps it is the universality and acknowledgement that people and animals really do live together on our planet. Both species come together demonstrating that we are all part of Earth’s family so we need to take care of each other.
A Tale of Silyan played at the Chicago International Film Festival where it won the Silver Hugo award for Best Documentary. This week it was nominated for the top documentary award by the Independent Spirit Awards. It is currently playing in select theaters throughout the U.S. It will expand to others on December 12th.
FILM: THE TALE OF SILYAN
DIRECTED BY: TAMARA KOTEVSKA
RATING: 3 ½ out 4 stars
By Dan Pal
Storks have been fodder for the imagination for centuries. Some might still be telling their children that they bring us babies… The Tale of Silyan is a documentary which, in part, recounts a legendary story from the 17th Century about a boy who wanted to leave his farm, was then struck by lightning and turned into a stork. He then returns to the farm in his new form to be with his human family. While the film itself doesn’t attempt to depict this exact story, it does use the tale as a framing device for a lonely farmer in North Macedonia who develops a familial relationship with a wounded and equally alone stork. Tamara Kotevska, who was previously Oscar-nominated for her film Honeyland, directed the film and infuses it with joy, pain, warmth, outstanding camera work, and a strong desire to explore and depict the important relationship that exists between the animal kingdom and humans.
When the film opens, the camera is settled on the face of a stork that is receiving loving pets from a man. He and his wife run a farm which produces potatoes, peppers, watermelons, and lettuce. They appear very happy together in the expansive land. Also, nearby are dozens of storks. Apparently, this region has the largest number of the large long-beaked birds than anywhere else in the world. They live side by side with the farmers. The storks feed off the land where frogs, mice and other smaller creatures live.
There is a strife in the air though as the farmers, dealing with the market place and wholesalers, are finding they can’t sell what they grow. This leads to extreme hardships and a need to sell the land. It is at this point that the documentary’s narrative begins bringing the worlds of the storks and farmers closer together. If the land is sold, what happens to the storks? How do they eat and survive?
Kotevska’s film demonstrates how intertwined these lives are. We see the storks attempting to find food in dump sites and other land that is being destroyed for insurance money. As the farmer’s family leaves to make money elsewhere and the storks must also look elsewhere for food, the farmer and one wounded stork remain. Their bond becomes the heart of the film. Kotevska shows how the farmer and his close buddies attempt to take care of sick and dying storks. There is a real respect for nature here. Each needs the other and we see how they survive together.
The film is beautifully shot with unobtrusive cameras and drones which record what is happening on the farm and on the high above stork nests. Often they capture some very private moments within the farmer’s family as they face the reality of their situation. As such, the film plays more like a fictional film than a documentary. The only outside voice we hear is that of a narrator who is telling the tale of Silyan. It’s interesting to hear how the current story relates to the legend. Perhaps it is the universality and acknowledgement that people and animals really do live together on our planet. Both species come together demonstrating that we are all part of Earth’s family so we need to take care of each other.
A Tale of Silyan played at the Chicago International Film Festival where it won the Silver Hugo award for Best Documentary. This week it was nominated for the top documentary award by the Independent Spirit Awards. It is currently playing in select theaters throughout the U.S. It will expand to others on December 12th.