KINDNESS AMBASSADORS- Hear the Ukrainian Voices

"If you truly want to help Ukraine, then let our voices be heard: Stop the war!"

Hi I’m Elena Beuca Rogers, founder of Elliel Studios who's mission is to make Films with Purpose, and our motto is “Changing the World One Movie at a time”

Our recent film project "KINDNESS AMBASSADORS" is a documentary about the difference people can make in a dark world.

Returning to my home country of Romania for a short visit, in Feb 2022, my American husband Dave Rogers and I found ourselves shocked by the unfolding invasion in neighboring country Ukraine. Separated by only a few hours’ drive and a wooden bridge, we watched as terror rained down on families, not unlike our own. Watching them go through such suffering and abuse pulled deeply on our heart strings. Returning to the U.S. was not an option. As Christians we are called to love thy neighbor. Even though we didn't know what to do, we knew we will be led to where we were needed most.

With a camera in hand and a few supplies, we headed out to the border and although I don’t have experience in documentary filmmaking, I felt a crucial need to record our journey and the people we met along the way and to share with the world the UKRAINIAN VOICES. And that's how "KINDNESS AMBASSADORS” the documentary film was born. What unfolds in this film is a remarkable story of resilience for both us and the individuals we met along the way. Even though we didn't know how to help, we decided to use what was in our hands. We served through simple gifts – cooking a meal, sharing stories, building homes and lending a hand where needed. We found that amid the tragedy there is hope; that a neighbors’ kindness does make a difference.

So that’s what the rest of our 2022 year looked like...and for the next year and a half I worked with a small team of people on editing and the post production of the film.

Once we finished the film, the next phase was DISTRIBUTION, with the big question looming, "How do we reach people, World Wide, but even the people of Russia – because they need to hear their neigbour’s voices probably more than anyone”. Although, I'm a filmmaker, I don’t have the experience in distribution, and it’s a whole new foreign world. Being a Christian, I reached out to pastors I know in America and Romania to ask if they could help or get involved and hopefully share it with their communities, but they didn’t want to "get involved into politics”, as they put it. My entertainment background is from Hollywood, so I thought that maybe we should take that route and send it to the Academy Awards. It qualified as one of 144 eligible documentary films for 2023 Oscars with the original title, "Thy Neighbours”. Unfortunately without a lot of money or notable names behind our film, we didn’t go too far.

We hired a producer rep to navigate through the distribution companies for them to release it. The big companies said that the film is too small for them. We did get a few offers from the smaller distribution companies, who wanted to acquire the rights – but we had to pay them in advance and they will have it on some of the digital platforms in the spring of 2025. Instead of waiting for another 6 months for the world to HEAR THEIR VOICES we decided that the best way to reach people and share ”Kindness Ambassadors" with the world is actually here on Youtube. This way everyone can have access to it, no matter where they are, including Russia. And more than anything, the power is not in a distribution company’s hands but in your hands, the Kindness Ambassadors who care about what’s going on in Ukraine and feel called to make a difference.

So, on October 27, 2024 - my 45th birthday - here we are, passing the “Distribution Torch" onto YOU, with the hope and faith that it will reach the right Kindness Ambassadors who want to make a much bigger difference than we could and that one day it will ignite a kindness movement in the world.

Please help us in this effort by donating anything you can.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION WILL:

• Raise awareness about what’s going on in Ukraine.

• Spread the message and impact of kindness towards our world-wide neighbours.

• Support the production, and marketing of this film

If you’d like to get more involved in any way, please reach out to directly on my personal website

Thank you in advance for for showing your support and for joining the kindness movement .

With Love

Elena

 

How YOU can help:

 

1. Support the Ukrainian Voices campaign

 

2. Follow, share and join the conversation across social media

 

We can all help. We can all make a difference. We must stand up for Ukraine. Help NOW!

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 BREATHE ON. 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, we need to do something to help the refugees… 

We should go back to Sighetu Marmatiei and see how we can help them. It’s not a coincidence that we were just there a few months ago and met all these people who are now involved.”

 

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 my voice – as a woman, a Romanian-American citizen, a Christian, and a Filmmaker. I will record their voices, tell their stories and get others involved. Dave and I traveled to both sides of the border with the purpose of documenting the truth and sharing it with the world - as well as helping with humanitarian needs for the Ukrainian People.

 

We share them with the world, hoping that together we will find solutions and find a way to “Stop the Beating.”

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. Together we might find a solution to Stop this War before it’s too late for the world, not just the Ukrainian people. 

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. 

“If you truly want to help Ukraine, then let our voices be heard: Stop the war!”