The Tale of Silyan

Winner of the Best Film Cinema and Arts Award at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, THE TALE OF SILYAN follows Nikola, a farmer in rural North Macedonia grappling with the harsh realities of new government policies, who 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 discovers the injured white stork Silyan. As he nurses the bird back to health, an unlikely bond forms between man and animal. The result is a deeply moving film that touches on climate change, economic migration, resilience and the quiet power of connection.The film offers a meditation on humanity’s connection to the environment. Through the use of a traditional fable, it explores the healing power we find in our relationships with our community and the natural world around us.