When the offers started pouring in for the distribution rights to "Girlfight," one of the hits at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, new director Karyn Kusama and new producer Martha Griffin kept their heads. They didn’t bite at the first offer they received and they weren’t swayed by large amounts of money. In the frenzied atmosphere of the festival, they focused on finding the deal that was right for them and their movie.

It helped that neither Kusama nor Griffin were kids fresh out of film school but were, instead, filmmakers with a good deal of experience working within the industry. It also helped that the other two producers on the project were Maggie Renzi and Sarah Green, best known for their work with filmmaker John Sayles. Green also has a long-established working relationship with David Mamet on films like "Oleanna," "The Spanish Prisoner," "The Winslow Boy" and the forthcoming "State and Main."

Sarah Green, her career is one of producer of films mostly made by John Sayles and David Mamet. Sarah resides in Gloucester, MA [Photo credit: Hartley Ferguson]

Green is based in New York but divides her time between Manhattan and Gloucester, Massachusetts, which she considers her home. She took some time to talk to Imagine magazine after the dust settled following the recent Sundance, giving a look behind the scenes at one of this year’s movie success stories.

"First of all, Maggie Renzi has been in the business for twenty years and I’ve been in for fifteen years," she said, explaining why they remained calm and collected after the premiere of "Girlfight" set off of a frenzy of competing bids. As for Kusama and Griffin, "They’re both grown ups. They were not in a rush."

Green describes the film as "a coming of age love story about an angry, urban teenager [Michele Rodriguez in her debut performance] who learns to channel her anger through boxing." The twist – beyond the female boxing – is when the protagonist finds herself in the ring battling one of her young loves from the gym.

When Kusama and Griffin had the film ready to go they turned to Renzi and Green for financial help. All four have long associations working on various movies with John Sayles. Green has worked her way up the production chart, having served stints as unit manager and post-production supervisor, eventually becoming a producer on such Sayles films as "City of Hope" and "The Secret of Roan Inish." Kusama had also worked for Sayles and become a good friend of the writer/director.

"Karyn is very much a protégé of John’s," said Green.

Renzi and Green liked the project and were happy to help Kusama and Griffin get started. Recalled Green, "When I found half the money, John came up with the other half… How many filmmakers would put up their own money for another filmmaker?"

(Note to aspiring directors: Don’t bother to call Sayles for help underwriting your film. He has no overwhelming desire to finance other people’s movies. He was helping a close friend.)

Eventually, the International Film Channel (IFC) was brought in to replace Green’s initial investor, and "Girlfight" shot last summer primarily in Jersey City, New Jersey, with some New York locations as well. As production got underway, IFC and Sayles waived the requirement of a completion bond, meaning that the producers would not have to budget for the additional insurance expense. Green was pleased until she realized, "Oh, that means it’s me."

In other words, the producers were now personally guaranteeing the completion of the film. It was the first time for Green serving as both producer and bond company.

Fortunately there were no problems. "We had a finished film that we felt really strongly about," she said. "We applied early to the Sundance Festival and they very quickly told us we were a surefire bet." Indeed, such was the enthusiasm that they heard they would likely be in the festival even before the official announcements were made.

It turned out to be a great break for the neophyte filmmakers since "Girlfight" was eventually chosen to be one of the sixteen films – out of the hundreds of titles submitted – invited into the competition.

The film’s premiere at Sundance was a triumph. "The offers started coming in as the credits came up," Green recalled. Here’s where their collective experience (and the assistance of a good lawyer) helped them to sort through the offers and figure out what was best for the film and for director Kusama.

"We obviously needed a certain level of money so the investors are paid back and Karyn had a cushion," explained Green. They were also looking for a comfort level with the people involved, which meant they wanted signs of a willingness to include the producers and director in the marketing process.

"You can’t just deliver a film and walk away," said Green. "Marketing is the other half of making a film."

Indeed one offer was rejected when the company involved was hesitant to commit to the film’s producers being actively involved in getting "Girlfight" to the marketplace. "We deliberately chose a very collaborative distributor."

The deal was closed with Screen Gems, a division of Sony Pictures. They had originally been talking to Sony Classics, but it was the distributor who backed off. "It was clear to Sony Classics that [the film] should open bigger than they could do," said Green. Sony passed the film along to Screen Gems, another division of the company, which handles films that can crossover from the arthouse to the mainstream. By coincidence, one of their recent releases was John Sayles’ "Limbo."

Renzi, Green, Griffin and Kusama will meet soon with the marketing people at Screen Gems to plot out the film’s release later this year, including making the director available for interviews to help promote the film. Meanwhile Green has other projects to attend to as well, including the post-production work on "State and Main" which recently finished a Massachusetts shoot, and developing some projects of her own.

As of the moment, she describes her career as one of producer – solo or in partnership – of films mostly made by Sayles and David Mamet. If "Girlfight" scores a knockout, perhaps Karyn Kusama will join them on Sarah Green’s short list as well.

Daniel M. Kimmel is the Boston correspondent for Variety Magazine