NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTARY FILMS UNVEILS TRAILER AND THEATRICAL RELEASE DATES FOR AWARD-WINNING "THE TALE OF SILYAN"

The Critically Acclaimed Film From the Double Academy Award(R)-Nominated Director of 'Honeyland,' Concordia Studio, The Corner Shop and Ciconia Film Will Open in Select U.S. Theaters on Nov. 28 and in the U.K. on Dec. 12

National Geographic Documentary Films Partners With Picturehouse and Dogwoof To Release North Macedonia's Official Selection for International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards

(WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oct. 30, 2025) Today, National Geographic Documentary Films announced the award-winning documentary THE TALE OF SILYAN will make its theatrical debut this fall, opening in select U.S. theaters on Nov. 28 and in U.K. cinemas on Dec. 12. Distributed by Picturehouse in North America and Dogwoof internationally, the official trailer launched today, offering a first look at this poignant and visually arresting story about a wounded white stork and a down-on-his luck farmer who form an unlikely bond. The film, which hails from Oscar(R)-nominated filmmaker Tamara Kotevska ("Honeyland") and executive produced by Davis Guggenheim, Concordia Studio, The Corner Shop and Ciconia Film, premiered at the Venice Film Festival to universal 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).

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.

Early reviews for THE TALE OF SILYAN have critics calling it "a triumph" (IndieWire), "captivating, earthbound, airborne and magical" (The Hollywood Reporter), and "exquisite... a beautiful and gently melancholy paean to a delicately interconnected ecosystem disrupted by the pressures of modern life" (Screen International). POV Magazine praised it as "a beauty of a film - a wonder to behold with striking cinematography and poetic storytelling," while Filmmaker Magazine hailed it as "painstakingly crafted."

"This film is very close to my heart," said Kotevska. "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."

"We are delighted to partner with Tamara, having been big admirers of her beautiful debut film 'Honeyland,'" said Carolyn Bernstein, EVP of Documentary Films at National Geographic. "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 film will roll out in North Macedonia and other international territories at later dates, with Restart releasing it in Croatia on January 8 with plans to expand in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia; Imagine Entertainment releasing in Belgium and the Netherlands on January 29; additional territories, including with Madman in Australia and New Zealand, as well as So Films in Poland are yet to be dated.

Kotevska and Dakar (who doubles as cinematographer) produce for Ciconia Film, alongside The Corner Shop's Anna Hashmi, as well as Jordanco Petkovski. The film is executive produced by Concordia Studio's Oscar-winner Davis Guggenheim ("An Inconvenient Truth"), Laurene Powell Jobs, Casey Meurer and Lizzie Fox, as well as National Geographic Documentary Films' Carolyn Bernstein and Tim Horsburgh. Martin Ivanov is editor, and Joe Wilson Davies and HunOuk Park composed the music. Picturehouse distributes in the U.S., while Dogwoof is the international theatrical distributor.

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About Director/Producer Tamara Kotevska

Tamara Kotevska was born in Prilep, North Macedonia, and fell in love with filmmaking early on. At the age of 12, Kotevska picked up a VHS camera and began capturing childhood memories and neighborhood stories. In 2010, she won a U.S. exchange student scholarship and moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she continued to study documentary filmmaking. Upon her return to North Macedonia, Kotevska began a two-year collaboration with director Ljubo Stefanov to co-direct LAKE OF APPLES (2016), a short documentary that received over ten grand in prizes at international documentary festivals around the world. After this film, Kotevska co-directed her debut feature-length documentary HONEYLAND. The film went on to win three awards at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival (Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary, Impact Award, Cinematography Award) and two Academy Award nominations in 2020 for Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature. At the time, it was the only documentary film in history to be nominated in both categories. After HONEYLAND, Kotevska directed her second feature-length documentary, THE WALK, produced by the Academy Award-winning British production company Grain Media. THE WALK had its world premiere at DOC NYC 2023 and its European Premiere at CPH:DOX 2024. She is currently in post-production on her debut fiction film, MAN VS. FLOCK, and is developing a new documentary about the Dolgan mammoth tusk hunters, which will shoot in the northernmost area of the Siberian tundra. In her films, Kotevska aims to create new forms of filmmaking, unforgettable stories, strong characters and perception-shifting messages.

About National Geographic Documentary Films

National Geographic Documentary Films, part of a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the National Geographic Society, is committed to bringing the world premium, feature documentaries that cover timely, provocative and globally relevant stories from the very best documentary filmmakers. Its award-winning and critically acclaimed films reach 300 million people worldwide in 180 countries and 33 languages across the global National Geographic channels and direct-to-consumer platforms Disney+ and Hulu. Recent films include Oscar-nominated "Sugarcane," Oscar-nominated "Bobi Wine: The People's President," Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated "Fire of Love," three-time Emmy(R) Award winner "The First Wave," Emmy Award winner "Endurance," two-time Sundance Award winner "The Territory," BAFTA nominees "The Rescue" and "Becoming Cousteau," and Oscar and BAFTA winner "Free Solo," as well as this year's "Sally," "Lost in the Jungle," and "Love+War." For more information, visit films.nationalgeographic.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Concordia Studio

Concordia Studio is a talent-first studio founded in 2020 by Oscar(R)-winning director Davis Guggenheim (INCONVENIENT TRUTH, WAITING FOR SUPERMAN) in partnership with Laurene Powell Jobs and Emerson Collective. Concordia produced 2025's acclaimed Sundance documentary film DEAF PRESIDENT NOW! co-directed by Nyle DiMarco and Davis Guggenheim. The film was released on AppleTV+ in May, and was nominated for two Emmy(R) awards - "Outstanding Documentary" and "Outstanding Directing." Concordia also produced 2023's Sundance documentary film STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE, Guggenheim's feature film about the life of beloved actor and advocate Michael J. Fox. The film garnered four Emmy(R) awards including "Outstanding Documentary," and swept the 2023 Critics' Choice Documentary Awards with five wins.  Additional 2023 Concordia releases include Netflix's WORKING: WHAT WE DO ALL DAY, a documentary series narrated by President Barack Obama that explores the ways we find meaning in work and how struggles connect us on a human level; HBO's NAVAJO POLICE: CLASS 57, a documentary series chronicling a group of recruits that enter the Navajo Police Training Academy; and Apple TV+'s THE ENFIELD POLTERGEIST, a nonfiction genre horror series profiling Poltergeist of 1977 that inspired popular horror movies. Recently, Concordia produced GIRLS STATE, a follow up film to widely celebrated Emmy(R) award-winning documentary BOYS STATE, which had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and debuted on Apple TV+; GIRLS STATE garnered three Emmy(R) awards.