Tamara Kotevska wins Grierson Award in London for The Story of Siljan

Macedonian director Tamara Kotevska won the Grierson Award for best feature documentary at a London ceremony, receiving the United Kingdom’s leading prize for documentary film for The Story of Siljan.

The Grierson Awards, established in 1972 and commonly known as the British Documentary Awards, recognise documentary films from the UK and abroad for their quality, integrity, creativity and overall excellence. The prizes were named in honour of John Grierson (1898–1972), widely acknowledged as a pioneer and a foundational figure in documentary cinema.

Kotevska has already received major recognition for the film: in Britain she was awarded a "Green Oscar" for Best Direction and Production for The Story of Siljan, and the title has collected several other prizes on the festival circuit.

Director's reaction and festival run

Reacting to the Grierson win, Kotevska said: "The value of 'The Story of Siljan' continues to be confirmed even after a full year filled with awards, and we expect many more recognitions in the period ahead. Honestly, I have nothing more to say in words, except that this film carries my heart and all my passion for the seventh art."

The Story of Siljan had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2025, screened out of competition in the documentary programme. It was North Macedonia's candidate for the Academy Award in the Best International Feature Film category, and it also achieved qualification for the Best Documentary category though it did not receive an Oscar nomination.

National Geographic Documentary Films acquired distribution rights to the film. It had its U.S. theatrical premiere in New York on 28 November 2025, and from January 2026 it has been screened in cinemas across North Macedonia.

This year the film earned two Emmy nominations — for Outstanding Documentary Craft and for Outstanding Camera for documentary programming, credited to cinematographer Jean Dakar — and in June 2026 it won the FIPRESCI award at the Kraków Film Festival. Previous Grierson winners include Asif Kapadia, Alex Gibney, Kevin Macdonald, Werner Herzog, Louis Theroux and Sir David Attenborough.

Producers say the film remains active on the festival circuit and that new screenings and recognitions are expected in the months ahead.

Photo: press material from the event