AGE: 32

AUDACIOUS DIRECTORIAL DEBUT: Girlfight, the story of a teenager who learns to vent her frustrations in the ring instead of in the schoolyard, scored writer-director Kusama the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.

REEL LIFE: She’s been boxing since 1993.

MENTOR: Director–indie god John Sayles. She started as his assistant; he helped bankroll Girlfight.

TRUE CONFESSION: Skipped party for Girlfight at Sundance. “I was in a cab, and we drove up, and it was so mobbed, I could tell that I wasn’t going to be able to have fun, so I told the driver to keep going.”

TOUGHEST CHALLENGE: “Determining if, when, and how you’re willing to compromise.”

NEXT UP: “I think it’s going to be a movie I’m writing now, a freaky reinterpretation of science fiction. It’s sort of a hybrid of science fiction and horror. It’s very different from Girlfight, and I’m really excited.”