Alone yet Not Alone

Alone yet Not Alone: Their Faith Became Their Freedom (retitled Massacre at Buffalo Valley for some television showings^[2]) is a 2013 American Christian^[3]captivity narrative^[4][5]historical drama film directed by Ray Bengston, co-directed by George D. Escobar, and starring Kelly Greyson, Jenn Gotzon, and Clay Walker. Adapted from Tracy Leininger Craven's namesake novel, the film gets its title from the German hymn "Allein, und doch nicht ganz allein."^[6][7] It dramatizes the accounts of three preteen girls, Barbara and Regina Leininger and Marie LeRoy, who the Delaware took captive in the Penn's Creek massacre.

James R. Leininger, the father of the original novel's author and descendant of the portrayed Leiningers, partially funded Alone yet Not Alone.^[8] The film's title song, "Alone yet Not Alone," was nominated for Best Original Song at the 86th Academy Awards. However, the academy rescinded the nomination two weeks later due to alleged tampering from co-composer Bruce Broughton.^[9]

In the mid-18th century, the Leininger family immigrated from Germany to Penns Creek, Pennsylvania, where they farmed alongside the LeRoy and Hecklinger families. Nearby, General Braddock dismisses six Indian chiefs as prospective allies against George Washington's advice, leading them to support the French instead.

Un día de 1755, los hermanos indígenas Galasko y Hannawoa, hijos de un jefe de la tribu Delaware , asaltaron e incendiaron la granja de los Leininger mientras la señora Leininger y John estaban moliendo el grano, asesinando al señor Leininger y a Christian. Capturaron a Barbara y Regina después de que las niñas intentaran esconderse en una cueva y las colocaron junto con otros niños cautivos, entre ellos su amiga Marie LeRoy. Varios días después, Galasko bautizó a Barbara como "Susquehanna" antes de que los indígenas partieran, dividiendo a los cautivos y separando a Regina de Barbara y Marie. Barbara robó un caballo e intentó escapar, pero fue recapturada después de que una rama la dejara inconsciente. Cuando los indígenas se dispusieron a quemarla viva por intentar escapar, Galasko los convenció de perdonarle la vida a Barbara después de que ella prometiera no volver a huir jamás. Viajaron al fuerte francés de Quesne y más tarde al pueblo de Kittanning .

Tras las protestas de Benjamin Franklin y las familias de los cautivos, incluida la señora Leininger, por la masacre, el gobernador Morris y la legislatura de Pensilvania financiaron una milicia que enviaron a atacar Kittanning. Los indígenas llevaron rápidamente a Bárbara, María y otros cautivos al bosque y decidieron ejecutar en la hoguera a Lydia Barrett, una cautiva que había intentado escapar durante la batalla, escondiendo a dos niños y permitiendo que la milicia los rescatara. Para evitar que Barrett sufriera más, un soldado francés la fusiló a regañadientes tras un forcejeo con los indígenas. Un mes después, los indígenas llegaron con sus cautivos a la aldea de Moschkingo y los integraron en su tribu. Bárbara entabló amistad con Hylea, una niña indígena, mientras que María fue enviada con una anciana abusiva.

Varios años después, Barbara, ahora adolescente, se entera de que Marie planea escapar con otros dos cautivos, Owen Gibson y David Breckenridge, pero inicialmente descarta su plan por considerarlo inviable. Sin embargo, cuando Galasko le propone matrimonio y le regala el broche de la señora Leininger, que había tomado durante la incursión, Barbara reflexiona sobre su pasado y acepta los planes de Marie. Escapan por la noche, cuando los indios están ausentes, antes de su boda. Hannwoa descubre su ausencia y comienza a perseguirlos; mientras tanto, Owen dispara e intenta atacar a un oso, que le hiere la pierna antes de que David lo ahuyente. Después de que los fugitivos cruzan un río con dificultad, Hannwoa encuentra a Galasko regresando y le informa de la fuga de Barbara. Galasko intenta unirse a la persecución, pero Hannwoa, convencido de que quiere proteger a Barbara del castigo una vez más y robarle el mérito, lo asesina furioso.

When the fugitives arrive at Fort Pitt, which Colonel Mercer garrisons, the British soldiers are unconvinced of their plight until Barbara convinces them by speaking German. When they attempt to receive them, Hannwoa appears and attacks them, inflicting several casualties before Barbara kills him with a wounded soldier's pistol. After a month at Fort Pitt, the four travel to Philadelphia and reunite with Mrs. Leininger, John, and Fritz Hecklinger. Barbara returns her mother's brooch to her, who informs her that Regina remains missing. Owen and David enlist in the Pennsylvania militia; Marie promises to wait for Owen while Barbara marries Fritz.

Several years later, Barbara and Fritz have had two children when Henry Muhlenberg informs the family on Christmas Eve that Colonel Armstrong has defeated the Indians in Ohio and recovered all war prisoners. They rush to Carlisle Fort and meet Owen, who tells them that David died in the Battle of Bushy Run. Barbara informs him that Marie remains unmarried, and Owen and Marie embrace. Unable to recognize Regina among the liberated children, Mrs. Leininger sings "Alone yet Not Alone" to them after consulting Colonel Armstrong, rekindling Regina's memories, and she runs into her family's embrace.

Regina never married and lived with her mother until they died, buried together in Stouchsburg, and the town placed a monument honoring her in their gravesite. Barbara continued her life as a farmer in Berks County, eventually had a third child, and named her daughter after her sister. In 1805, she died and lies interred in Cumru Township.

Alone yet Not Alone received a limited theatrical release in nine markets on September 27, 2013, and grossed $125,775 (~$173,839 in 2025) in its opening weekend. By the end of its three-week run on October 11, it had grossed $133,546 at the domestic box office, with a per-screen average of $13,396. The film received a wide release on June 13, 2014, eventually grossing $887,851 against its budget of $7 million, making it a box-office bomb.

Bruce Broughton and Dennis Spiegel wrote, and Joni Eareckson Tada performed, Alone yet Not Alone's namesake title song.^[12] "Alone yet Not Alone" received a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 86th Academy Awards. However, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences soon discovered Broughton, former governor and current executive committee member of the academy's music branch, improperly contacting other members of his branch. They thus rescinded their nomination on January 29, 2014.^[13] Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs claimed that using a position of authority within the academy to promote an Oscar submission "creates the appearance of an unfair advantage."^[14]

This incident was not the first time the academy rescinded a nomination. However, it was the first time the Academy cited ethical grounds for it and the first time it did so on a scripted American-produced feature film.^[15] Broughton claimed an industry double standard, saying him sending out "70 or so emails" was comparable to Isaacs' involvement in The Artist and The King's Speech as an academy governor.^[16]

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• Alone yet Not Alone at IMDb 
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• Alone yet Not Alone at Metacritic