The Tale of Silyan
Réalisation
Tamara KOTEVSKA
Nikola, a Macedonian farmer, finds himself unable to sell his crops. His family leaves in search of a better life abroad, and Nikola takes a job at a landfill where he finds an injured stork. As he nurses the bird back to health, a bond forms between man and animal. A tale about the wounds of migration.
Directed by
Tamara KOTEVSKA
Directed by
Tamara KOTEVSKA
Tamara Kotevska was born in Prilep, North Macedonia, and fell in love with filmmaking early on.
At the age of twelve, Kotevska picked up a VHS camera and began capturing childhood
memories and neighborhood stories. In 2010, she won a US exchange student scholarship and
moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she continued to study documentary filmmaking.
Upon her return to North Macedonia, Kotevska began a 2-year collaboration with director Ljubo
Stefanov to co-direct LAKE OF APPLES (2016), a short documentary that received over ten
grand prizes in international documentary festivals around the world. After this film, Tamara
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.
At the age of twelve, Kotevska picked up a VHS camera and began capturing childhood
memories and neighborhood stories. In 2010, she won a US exchange student scholarship and
moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she continued to study documentary filmmaking.
Upon her return to North Macedonia, Kotevska began a 2-year collaboration with director Ljubo
Stefanov to co-direct LAKE OF APPLES (2016), a short documentary that received over ten
grand prizes in international documentary festivals around the world. After this film, Tamara
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.
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