What if peace begins with each one of us

Hi I’m Elena Beuca Rogers, founder of Elliel Studios who's mission is to make Films that Leave a Mark

Director’s statement

When Russia attacked Ukraine, I was in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, just three hours away from the Ukrainian border. The Tisa River separates the two countries, with the city of Sighetu Marmatiei running alongside the Romanian side. I was in the “home stretch” on finishing my first feature film Entertaining a Stranger. My husband, Dave, was in the process of relocating us to Atlanta, Georgia, and I was super excited to move back to the United States after living in Romania for almost 1 year and a half. Then Dave called me:

“Honey, I think we should put everything on hold for now.

I would like to come back to Romania and help the refugees... It’s not a coincidence that we were just there a few months ago we were at the border filming a movie ”

Connections

In the fall of 2021, we helped friends film a movie in Sighet, inspired by actual events about an orphan. While there, we connected with amazing people who now were on the border every day helping the refugees.

Before we knew it, Dave was back in Romania and we were crossing the Tisa River from Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania, into Solotvyno, Ukraine. Accompanied by our friend and Sighetu native, Viorica, we’re in a large van filled with food and donations, heading to our first refugee camp in Ukraine. The next day, Viorica brought us back to Ukraine for a private meeting with a politician. As we left the meeting, my head hurt, and my stomach was upside down - I had a rude awakening and something changed inside me.

Dilemma

That meeting forced me to revisit my own trauma as a victim of domestic abuse 16 years ago. I was unaware, until that moment, that there was a part of me that was still numb and did not want to get involved. I was terrified of the fight and wanted to run away from the pain, especially the pain created by this war. My first instinct was to just play it safe and help from the sidelines. I was too small and felt that whatever I could do would not really make a difference.

If you ask someone who is being abused what can you do to help them while they’re in survival mode and fighting for their life, they might tell you straight forward, plain and simple: “Help me STOP the BEATING!”

We have now met a lot of refugees and “front-liners” (local people helping the refugees) who have become dear friends. They still have lots and lots of immediate needs like food, shelter, vans to transport the refugees, medications, and supplies for the soldiers.

But the most significant help that the world could offer is to help them STOP the attack. The result – End the War!

Commitment

I realized that even me, as small as I am, I must use gift as a Filmmaker. I will record our journey and document what I see and share it with the world.

We share them with the world, hoping that together we will find solutions and find a way to make Beauty Out of Ashes

There are almost 8 billion people in our world, and some of them – like me in the past – might be numb or believe that there is nothing they can do to help.

But that is not the case friends. If each one of us does our part and we become united, all these billions of “small people” like you and me, can do a lot of good. and who knows - together we might find a solution to Stop this War

Join us!

I believe every single one of us can help in one way or another.

Thank you so much for your support and for your willingness to help.