You Won't Be Alone

Plot

In 19th-century Macedonia, the witch Maria, a Wolf-Eateress with a burned appearance, enters the home of a newborn girl. The mother Elica promises to give up the child at age 16 if Maria spares her life; Maria agrees but takes the girl's voice. Elica hides her daughter Nevena in a cave, raising her in isolation. On Nevena's 16th birthday, Maria arrives as an eagle; Elica chases the bird and is killed, and Maria takes her form before leading Nevena out.

Maria uses a one-time spell to make Nevena a witch by killing a donkey, scratching Nevena's chest, and spitting donkey blood onto the wound before burning it. Nevena gains retractable black talons. Maria pulls Elica's guts from her chest, reverting to her burned form. Maria tries to teach Nevena to kill and eat animals for power, but Nevena refuses, angering Maria, who abandons her.

Nevena spies Maria shapeshifting into a wolf and learns the method. She later encounters a village, accidentally kills a young mother named Bosilka, and takes her form. Nevena learns human life while the villagers think Bosilka has gone mad.

Production

In December 2020, Noomi Rapace, Anamaria Marinca, Alice Englert, Carloto Cotta, Félix Maritaud, and Sara Klimoska were announced as cast, with Goran Stolevski directing from his own screenplay. Focus Features was set to distribute. Principal photography concluded by December 2020. Filming took place on Stara Planina, in the village of Pokrevenik, Serbia, as well as the rivers Pakleštica and Visočica, the Tupavica waterfall, and Petnica Cave near Valjevo.

Release

The film made its debut at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival on January 22 as part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition. It was also featured in the Bucheon Choice section of the 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, where it was shown on July 10, 2022. Its initial United States release date of January 28, 2022 was pushed back to April 1, 2022. The movie later arrived on the streaming service Peacock in May 2022, and reached Australian theaters on September 22, 2022 through a co-distribution deal with Madman Films.

Reception

In its US opening weekend, the film earned $124,750 from 147 theaters, dropping 60% to $49,750 in its second weekend. On Metacritic, it scored 82 out of 100 from 32 critics, indicating universal acclaim. The film was submitted as Australia's official entry for the Best International Film category at the 95th Academy Awards in 2023 but was not nominated.