RELEASE: 2026
DIRECTED BY: Will Calkins
WRITTEN BY: Will Calkins
STARRING: Makenzie Pridgen, Sean Mikesh
An unstable fencer invites her biggest competition to an after hours duel.
Jaime, an emotionally unstable saber fencer, has invited her biggest competition Taylor to an after hours duel at their fencing club. While Taylor approaches the bout with a sense of fun and companionship, Jaime has something to prove. But to who, and how far will she go to do it?
cOMING SOON
ARTIST STATEMENT
Will Calkins – Writer & Director
I was a saber fencer for almost ten years, and On Guard was my way to express how I felt about being an athlete. In fencing, and all solo sports, everything rides on you. You don’t have any team that can support you or drag you down. And during these tournaments, dozens to 250 kids will show up and every single one of them will go home a loser except for one. That can be a lot of weight to carry, especially for someone that isn’t naturally well-balanced mentally. Jaime is a character that I relate a lot to, not because I would ever intentionally hurt someone over a game, but because I put a lot of pressure on myself over my performance in that sport, and I attached an unhealthy sense of self to it. I think a lot of athletes can relate to that chase, and what I eventually learned was that there was no distance I could go or goal I could achieve that would be “enough.” And I think that’s something a lot of artists can relate to as well, and something I’ve brought into my own journey as an artist. It’s a lesson I will continue learning for a long time.