Tamara Kotevska’s new feature The Tale of Silyan will world premiere out of competition at the Venice Film Festival before heading to Toronto for its North American debut, marking a high-profile return for the co-director of the double Oscar-nominated Honeyland. Venice’s public schedule lists multiple screenings on August 29–30, and TIFF programs the film in its nonfiction lineup in September.
Set in North Macedonia and framed as a docu-fable, the film intertwines a contemporary story about a struggling farmer, Nikola, and an injured white stork he rescues, with a local folktale about a boy transformed into a bird. Early materials describe the bond between man and bird as a counterpoint to economic migration and family separation, suggesting a portrait of care and survival rather than a conventional nature study. Production notes credit Kotevska and Jean Dakar as producers, with additional producing by Anna Hashmi and Jordanco Petkovski and executive producing by Davis Guggenheim, Laurene Powell Jobs, Casey Meurer, and Lizzie Fox; Jean Dakar shot the film and Martin Ivanov edited.
Sales activity is already in motion around the fall launches. Dogwoof has boarded international rights, positioning the title with a specialist documentary label ahead of market screenings and festival buzz. The company’s track record in nonfiction features gives Silyan a clear path to buyers as Venice and Toronto overlap.
The festival placements spotlight Kotevska’s shift from observational portraiture to an overtly mythic register. Honeyland became the first film to be nominated for both best international feature and best documentary at the Academy Awards, and the new work carries forward themes of kinship, resourcefulness, and fragile ecosystems while expanding into folklore. Venice lists The Tale of Silyan at 80 minutes in its Out of Competition nonfiction strand, signaling a compact format designed for broad festival play, while TIFF’s listing underscores the film’s hybrid approach.
