Kordon: a docufilm on the courage of women, an appeal to become peacemakers

"Kordon", a docufilm produced by Vatican Media and Tenderstories is presented at the 2022 Rome International Film Festival. 

By Linda Bordoni

Kordon is the title of a docufilm directed by Alice Tomassini that tells the story of five Ukrainian volunteers based at a railway station in the Hungarian town of Zahony close to the border (kordon) of war-ravaged Ukraine.

The stories of the five women featured in the film are the stories of the over seven million women and children who have fled violence in their home country, leaving everything behind as they cross the border.

Traveling between Ukraine and Hungary, the five protagonists are seen and interviewed as they help fellow Ukrainians in their sorrowful quest for safety and hope. They are powerful witnesses of the role of women, peacemakers in a broken world.

Kordon is a moving portrait of female resistance, courage and solidarity, and most importantly, it is a clarion call to everyone not to look away in the face of war and seemingly unsurmountable challenges, but to join forces and ultimately create change.

A Vatican Media co-production

The film which premiered on Friday at the prestigious Rome International Film Festival is co-produced by Vatican Media and Tenderstories.

In the words of Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication of which Vatican Media is part, “this film tells the story of the war through the tearful eyes of women and children, of those who did not want it, did not even believe it possible, but found themselves in the midst of it as if the world had fallen upon them.”

The word “kordon” he explained, means border and clearly refers to the geographical border between Ukraine and Hungary. But it also speaks of the innumerable borders that pass through Zahony and through many other unknown villages, joining cities and nations.

“It also refers to the boundaries that cross our hearts, dividing good from evil, present from future.”

An act of resistance

Alice Tomassini, at her second experience directing a full-length film, said that she had the honour of meeting hundreds of exceptional people when she spent time, as a volunteer on the Ukrainian border with Hungary, one of the main passages of exodus after the Russian invasion.

“It is the story of five ordinary women who do something extraordinary to help a people under siege,” she said, and it is also “a documentary that aims to raise awareness on the importance of non-violent action.”

“It is an act of resistance that aims to give voice to the power of women and their capacity to transcend pain and find within themselves the courage to become peacemakers.”