Girlfight (2000)
2000 film by Karyn Kusama
- Released
- 22 January 2000
- Country
- United States
- Language
- Spanish, English
- Genre
- Boxing film
- Director
- Karyn Kusama
- Screenplay
- Karyn Kusama
- Producer
- John Sayles
- Music
- Gene McDaniels
- Starring
- Michelle Rodriguez, Paul Calderón, Ray Santiago
- Running time
- 110 minutes
- Distributor
- Screen Gems
- Set in
- Brooklyn
Girlfight is a 2000 American sports film written and directed by Karyn Kusama in her feature directorial debut, and starring Michelle Rodriguez in her film debut. It follows a troubled Brooklyn high school student, who decides to channel her aggression by training to become a boxer, despite the disapproval of her father and prospective trainers, as well as the competitors in the male-dominated sport.
Kusama wrote the screenplay for Girlfight after learning to box, wanting to make a film about the sport with a female protagonist. Although she struggled to find financiers for the film's $1 million budget, the production was eventually funded by John Sayles, Maggie Renzi, and the Independent Film Channel. Rodriguez was cast in the lead role despite having never acted before, and trained in boxing for four months before filming commenced in New York and New Jersey.
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q934160 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.