You Won't Be Alone

You Won't Be Alone is a 2022 horror dark fantasy drama film written and directed by Goran Stolevski. It is an international co-production of Australia, the United Kingdom, and Serbia in the Macedonian language, and marks Stolevski's feature film directorial debut. The film tells the story of Nevena, a mute girl in 19th-century Macedonia who is taken from a sheltered life of solitude by the witch Maria who turns her into a fellow shapeshifting witch before abandoning her, leading the clueless girl to explore the world above ground for the first time and learn about humanity, loss and love – while Maria watches in anger. It stars Sara Klimoska, Alice Englert, Carloto Cotta, and Noomi Rapace as some of Nevena's forms, alongside Anamaria Marinca as Maria. You Won't Be Alone premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition on 22 January 2022. The film was theatrically released on 1 April 2022 in the United States by Focus Features, and later on 22 September in Australia by Madman Films. It received critical acclaim, and was later selected as Australia's entry for Best International Feature Film, but was not nominated. Plot In 19th-century Macedonia, Maria – a "Wolf-Eateress", or witch, with a horrible burned appearance – enters the home of a newborn baby girl. The child's terrified mother says that if Maria spares the girl's life, she will give her up once the girl is 16. Maria agrees, but robs the girl of her voice before leaving. The mother hides her daughter, Nevena, in a cave, and raises her there with no knowledge of the outside world.