“Elegance” is Amanda Hibbert’s first film and reveals the meaning of women’s rugby through an array of players’ perspectives: an injured player fights through a comeback, an international player retires, current players struggle to balance life, work and training. Hibbert has spent the last seven years bringing “Elegance” to the fore, and the documentary highlights the passion, love and pain these women have for a sport that is still striving for recognition in America. Now that filming is complete, Hibbert must focus energies on building an audience, securing financial support, and getting her film seen. [All photos copyrighted: Amanda Hibbert Photography]
Hibbert’s rugby story began at Virginia Tech, where she was a prominent member of the Hokies women’s rugby team, serving as president and captain during her four-year term. She dedicated so much time to the sport that her grades actually suffered, and that all-or-nothing relationship with rugby influenced her retirement after graduation. She started photographing the sport but was dissatisfied with the two-dimensional depiction, and that search for a proper vehicle to tell women’s rugby’s story put “Elegance” into motion.
Based in San Francisco, Hibbert began filming the Berkeley All Blues during the 2013 Women’s Premier League season and the players recommended that she interview teammates who were vying for selection to the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“That’s how I got access to the U.S. National Team,” Hibbert said. “I reached out to USA Rugby and told them I was making a film. There were several back-and-forths – originally, the title had the word ‘violence’ in it and they didn’t want me to use that. I get that, why you don’t want that in there, so there was some compromise.”
An agreement was signed, and Hibbert documented the team during two selection camps, one week during the 2014 U.K. tour and three weeks in France for the Women’s Rugby World Cup. Combine that with the All Blues’ WPL season and she has hundreds of hours of footage over 81 days of filming in four countries, plus 30-60-minute interviews with 42 players and four coaches.
“I hope people don’t expect the film to be an advertisement for tackling,” Hibbert said. “I found my editors at SXSW. They had just graduated from film school and hadn’t heard of rugby. It was great having them edit instead of me because I would’ve been like, ‘What a great hit; put that in the reel!’ The pieces of interviews that they pulled out are very universal, and it shows the sport in a positive light.”
But the film doesn’t diffuse the shadows either.
“One interview question was specifically about injuries and how players feel about playing rugby and what it does to their bodies,” Hibbert said. “They gave very honest answers about their specific injuries. One player – Tannia Lau – tore her ACL and MCL, and she didn’t shy away from [talking about] it.”
There were no concussions, but there were head staples, joint-related injuries, and Kate Daley’s broken ankle at the World Cup. Hibbert called that footage “brutal,” however, she’s still working with a lawyer to have it included. NBC Universal owns the rights to the entire World Cup and Hibbert is arguing for fair use.
Legal fees are just one of the many expenses that Hibbert is fundraising to cover. From Errors and Omissions insurance, to film festival entrance fees, to paying for music and the film editors, Hibbert will end up spending $50,000. A sponsor is key, and so is showing at film festivals, where there’s more access to financial backers. She is currently doing research on which festivals align with her content and referenced Murder Ball’s festival circuit for guidance.
The rugby community itself is a vital part of the process. As the core of the audience, teams and leagues can co-host screenings of the film once it’s premiered at a festival (final cut should be end of May for festival submissions) in their local theaters. The more screenings that occur, the larger the audience and the more attractive the documentary to film festivals, “which are businesses, and they need to make sure people are attending.”
There is a busy year ahead, but with the proper support, “Elegance” will be making the film festival rounds in fall 2018 and winter 2019.
“This is my first film, and it’s the most important one. I would be nowhere without rugby,” Hibbert said. “The whole point of the film is to get people interested in rugby in their areas, specifically in women’s rugby. It’s a welcoming community, open to all people, and fun to play.”
If all goes well, Hibbert, who is a commercial photographer from 9-5, will keep making films with autobiographical roots, ranging from military families, to women in engineering. For more information and updates:
Follow “Elegance” on Facebook and Instagram, visit the film website, or watch the trailer.