Critically Acclaimed Nat Geo Documentary Film "The Tale Of Silyan" Set for Theatrical Release Later Next Month

National Geographic Documentary Films is ready to release their festival darling, The Tale Of Silyan in a theatrical release globally, bringing the enchanting story of a farmer and a wounded stork to everyone around the around the world. 

What’s Happening: 

• National Geographic Documentary Films is set to bring the award-winning documentary The Tale Of Silyan to theaters this fall, opening in select U.S. locations on Nov. 28 and in U.K. cinemas on Dec. 12. 
• The official trailer for the film launched today, offering a first look at this poignant and visually striking story about a wounded white stork and a down-on-his luck farmer who form an unlikely bond. 
• 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.
• The film comes from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland) and executive produced by Davis Guggenheim, Concordia Studio, The Corner Shop and Ciconia Film. It originally premiered at the Venice Film Festival to critical acclaim.
• Just this month, The Tale Of Silyan was named to DOC NYC’s 2025 shortlist, which showcases 15 of the year’s best documentaries. It was also one of only 10 films selected for SCAD Savannah Film Festival’s 2025 “Docs to Watch” panel. In addition, it received two 2025 Critics Choice Documentary Award nominations (Best Documentary Feature and Best Cinematography for Jean Dakar), and was the winner of the Best Film Cinema and Arts Award at the 82nd Venice Film Festival.
• The film will roll out in North Macedonia and other international territories at later dates, with Restart releasing it in Croatia on January 8th with plans to expand in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia; Imagine Entertainment will release the film in Belgium and the Netherlands on January 29th; additional territories, including with Madman in Australia and New Zealand are expected but yet to have a release date. 

What They’re Saying: 

• Tamara Kotevska: “This film is very close to my heart. Silyan, the one stork we follow, represents many — each carrying their own journey of survival and return. It’s a story that took time, patience and love to make. Working with Jean Dakar, whose cinematography brings the world of the film to life in such a breathtaking and deeply immersive way, has been an incredible collaboration.”
• Carolyn Bernstein, EVP of Documentary Films at National Geographic: “We are delighted to partner with Tamara, having been big admirers of her beautiful debut film Honeyland. Working with talented cinematographer Jean Dakar, she has created a true original, blending social issue vérité and stunning nature cinematography with a poetic fable. The Tale Of Silyan is an unforgettable and uplifting ode to love, empathy and the healing power of nature.”

The Reception is Clear: 

• The film currently holds a 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, indicating very strong early critical acclaim, especially having only been screened at festivals and other events. 
• Critics have praised the film’s visual beauty and cinematography, calling it “striking cinematography”, “painterly elegance,” and more. 
• They’ve also praised the emotional resonance of the story - a Macedonian farmer bonding with an injured white stork, set against the backdrop of rural decline and migration and the way it weaves folklore, nature-documentary elements, economic/migration themes, and human-animal relationship into a coherent whole. 
• Its combination of mythic storytelling, ecological/nature themes, and social commentary gives The Tale of Silyan a distinctive place in this year’s documentary landscape.