Female Film Critics 24/375
A stoic Macedonian farmer finds himself face to face with a changing world in Tamara Kotevska’s sobering but also hopeful documentary The Tale of Silyan. As the story of Nikola and his unexpected bond with an injured stork unfolds, Kotevska draws parallels to a traditional Macedonian myth in which a young man is cursed by his father to become a stork after refusing to help on the family farm.
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The Tale of Silyan is an exquisitely crafted documentary that introduces us to an aging Macedonian potato farmer and the injured stork that he takes under wing. In following their unusual relationsip, filmmaker Tamara Kotevska delves into the economic hardships that plague farmers who want to work their and and maintain their traditional way of life in Northern Macednia, the very region where the filmmaker grew up.
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Director Tamara Kotevska brings a Macedonian folktale to life in The Tale of Silyan, a beautiful film that weaves themes of migration, conservation, and humanity into one memorable documentary that transcends the genre. The Tale of Silyan will reward those who seek it out. With sublime images and multi-layered themes, Kotevska has delivered a worthy successor to her Honeyland and further cemented herself as a filmmaker with empathy and a unique vision.
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