Holly Buechel’s thrilling documentary “Fencing for the Edge” premieres at the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival on Saturday, June 8!

Here is my interview with Fencing for the edge director Holly Buechel:

Nigrin: Her feature-length documentary Fencing for the edge is about a New Jersey high school girls team trying to dethrone their rival as national fencing champions. Tell us a little about the making of this film.

Büchel: The manufacturing process Fencing for the edge was a labor of love rooted in my passion for filmmaking and fencing. Today, kids start fencing at age 8 or younger, but I started as a freshman in high school. As a former New Jersey high school fencing state champion, I was drawn to telling the origin story of the fencers of my time. The hardest part of bringing the idea to life was finding teams to film. One of my first jobs out of college was coaching the Columbia High School team in my hometown, so it was easier for me to connect with that team. I owe the Bernards' team to their coach, Vince Paragano, who was excited about the project from my first email to every high school coach in the state. Pingry and Teaneck were also interested in me, so we filmed with them too! At the end of the 2012-13 season, I did some test footage with the Bernards to create fundraising teasers. It was clear that Bernards was going to be one of the strongest girls teams in the state for the 2013-14 season, and I already had the defending state champions from Columbia on board, so the rivalry story was set from the first day of shooting. I loved shooting with all four teams, and we didn't know how the season was going to play out until it was all over. We spent a lot of time editing and narrowing the story down to follow the girls teams from Bernards and Columbia.

Nigrin: I'm a fan of sports documentaries and films because I played soccer in high school and college and was also on track teams, so I know the hardships and rigors that come with the sport. But I really didn't know much about fencing and your film does a great job of educating audiences about the sport. Was that one of the goals of the film?

Büchel: Absolutely, one of the goals of Fencing for the edge is to shed light on the world of fencing and familiarize audiences with the intricacies and intensity of the sport. We have some visual explanations of the basic rules, but had to leave out a lot of the details because it gets too complicated. The main ideas of fencing that we want to convey are that anyone can fence, regardless of size, and that it's more about your personality fitting into one of the three weapons: foil, épée, and sabre. Because of my own athletic background, I recognized the universal themes of endurance, teamwork, and triumph that run through all athletic endeavors. Through the lens of fencing, we wanted to educate and inspire viewers, regardless of how familiar they are with the sport.

Nigrin: You were an award-winning fencer, right? And you want to promote the sport you love, but at the same time address the issues of women in sport? Is that the right approach for your documentary?

Büchel: Yes, that's right. As an award-winning fencer, I am passionate about promoting the sport of fencing and advocating for women's participation in athletics. Fencing for the Edge serves as a platform to showcase the athleticism, skill, and resilience of female athletes while addressing broader issues of gender equality and empowerment in sport. Women gain so many life skills through sport in addition to the health benefits of physical activity. Although they don't compete against each other, fencing is one of the few sports where boys and girls can train together and support each other in a team environment. I'm also a huge fan of high school fencing because the sport becomes more accessible when it is offered as a sport in school. I hope that more areas will begin adding programs at the high school and middle school level when they see how inclusive, safe, and exciting fencing is for kids.

Nigrin: Your wonderful film has been in the works for some time now, about Bernards High School's run to the 2013-14 state championship. Why did it take so long to complete?

Büchel: The journey to the conclusion Fencing for the edge took a long time, mostly because of the extensive post-production work on the story. At first, I was the only editor, helping with an assistant to organize over 300 hours of footage. I worked as a freelance editor and eventually a permanent position, so working on the project was exhausting after my whole day was already taken up with other editing projects. Little by little, I raised more money and was able to hire my editor, Jenna Bush, who I met virtually through the D-Word. (One of the good things to come with Covid!) We did the follow-up interviews with the Bernards girls once we realized what was missing from the story and were able to film in person again. We wanted to make sure the film authentically portrayed the ups and downs of their journey, while also respecting their privacy and safety.

Nigrin: Are there any memorable stories from the time you made this film or any other information about your film that you would like to share with us?

Büchel: It took so long to make this film that I'm now married and pushing 40! In one version of the film when we were still including the Bernards boys team, there was footage of my future husband refereeing the boys' game. Later, when we started dating, he would tell people for a while that he was in the film. Steph, the Bernards girls' epee coach, has become one of my best friends and we've been to each other's weddings! There are a lot of familiar faces in the film because I'm so closely involved in the fencing community. I hope everyone finally enjoys this time capsule of an epic season as much as I did.

Fencing for the edge Premieres in 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival At Saturday, June 8th with Anastasia Forde's Found: The King of the Matsutake Mountains — a short documentary exploring the beautiful and intense world of Philip Manganaro, renowned chef, collector and owner of Park Place Café in Merchantville, NJ. These films will be available to view online for 24 hours that day and will also be shown in person at 7:00 p.m. at Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. Fencing for the edge director Holly Buechel, Found: The King of Matsutake Ridge Director Anastasia Forde and Philip Manganaro will be on site for a question and answer session after the personal demonstration! Tickets can be purchased here.

The Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, in collaboration with the Rutgers University Film Studies Program, presents the 2024 New Jersey International Film Festival, celebrating its 29th anniversary. The NJIFF competition will take place Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, May 31-June 9, 2024, and will be a hybrid competition with online and in-person screenings at Rutgers University. All films will be available virtually via video on demand for 24 hours on their screening day. VOD start times are at midnight Eastern Time. Any general admission ticket or festival pass purchased is valid for both the virtual and in-person screenings. In-person screenings will take place at Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ beginning at 5:00 or 7:00 p.m. on their screening day. PlusNJIFF is very proud to announce that acclaimed singer-songwriter Marissa Nadler will be in concert on Saturday, June 15th at 7pm at Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. General Admission = $15 per program; Festival All Access Pass = $120; Personal Student Pass Only = $10 per program.; General Admission to the Marissa Nadler Concert = $25. More information can be found here:

Albert Gabriel Nigrin is an award-winning experimental media artist whose work has been exhibited on five continents. He is also a lecturer in film studies at Rutgers University and the executive director/curator of the Rutgers Film Co-op/New Jersey Media Arts Center, Inc.