The Tale of Silyan

Tamara Kotevska's 2025 North Macedonian documentary follows the relation between a farmer and an injured stork. The bird cannot migrate, and the family keeps it in the house through the winter. The frame is a folk tale. The story of a boy who quarrels with his father, turns into a stork and leaves home is told within the film; the documentary uses it as a comparison and ties it to the family's own separations. Kotevska had become known for an earlier documentary about a beekeeper, and follows the same method here: staying a long time, adding no commentary, and showing the relation with nature alongside its economic conditions. Who it's for: those who like observational nature documentary. Who it's not for: viewers expecting an informative nature film; the narrative gives no information and interweaves tale with fact.