THE TALE OF SILYAN Film Acquired by National Geographic

Fresh off premiering at Venice Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival, National Geographic Documentary Films has acquired worldwide rights to “The Tale of Silyan” from the Oscar®-nominated director of “Honeyland,” Tamara Kotevska, in collaboration with Concordia Studio, The Corner Shop and Ciconia Film.

Winner of the “Best Film” Cinema and Arts Award at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, “The Tale of Silyan” is a story set in the heart of rural North Macedonia. Nikola, a farmer grappling with the harsh realities of new government policies, finds himself unable to sell his land or crops. When his family leaves IN SEARCH OF a better life abroad, Nikola takes a job as a landfill attendant, where he encounters the injured white stork Silyan. As he nurses the bird back to health, an unlikely bond forms between man and animal. 

National Geographic Documentary Films will roll out “The Tale of Silyan” at festivals around the world before releasing it in theaters ahead of its global streaming debut on Disney+.

“The white stork is a mythical creature in my home country of North Macedonia, so I’m thrilled to partner with National Geographic Documentary Films to be able to share an ancient tale from my childhood about these majestic birds with audiences at festivals, in cinemas and at home,” said Kotevska. “I have devoted my life as a filmmaker to two topics: migration and nature conservation. This film marries the two, as modern macro economics lead people to abandon fertile lands IN SEARCH OF work in urban cities, depleting the white storks’ natural food supply as farms become landfills. It is a stark warning about the direction we are heading.”

Kotevska and Jean Dakar (who doubles as cinematographer) produce for Ciconia Film, alongside The Corner Shop’s Anna Hashmi, as well as Jordanco Petkovski. The film is executive produced by Concordia Studio’s Oscar-winner Davis Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”), Laurene Powell Jobs, Casey Meurer and Lizzie Fox. Martin Ivanov is editor, and Joe Wilson Davies and HunOuk Park composed the music.

Photo credit: Ciconia Film/Jean Dakar