Grit, raw determination, and an unshakable desire to win fuels a young woman’s journey to becoming the most successful female boxer of the 90s in Director David Michôd’s biographical sports drama, Christy.

Michôd’s film tells the story of Christy Martin, who never imagined life beyond her small-town roots in West Virginia, until she discovered a knack for punching people. Under the guidance of her trainer and manager-turned-husband, Jim, she charges into the world of boxing, but her toughest battles start to unfold outside of it as she confronts family, identity, and a relationship that just might become life-or-death.

On November 2, after the DGA membership screening in New York, Michôd discussed the making of Christy during a Q&A moderated by Director Nicole Kassell (A Little Bit of Heaven). He is also scheduled to speak about the film following the Los Angeles screening on November 8.

During the New York conversation, Michôd revealed how a decision to shoot a difficult scene first resulted in a beautiful moment with the real Christy Martin.

“For scheduling reasons, we had to shoot the end of the movie first, the attack all the stuff in that house. At first, I was like, ‘God, here we go again.’ And then we went, ‘You know what, this is a good thing. Let's lean into it. Let's not have it looming over us and then let's spend the rest of the shoot knowing where we're heading.’ In a way that I hadn't anticipated, I think that was good for the whole crew. Everyone opened this experience kind of going, ‘Ohh wow, what this woman experienced was unimaginable!’ So, Christy, we did deliberately keep her away for that first week but week two she turned up and the whole crew burst into what felt like 10 minutes of applause. I think it was like Christy in that moment understood that for everyone here this isn't just a job for them. They're here for to fight the good fight.”

Michôd’s other directorial credits include the feature films The King, War Machine, The Rover and Animal Kingdom; and episodes of Doc World, Flesh and Bone and Enlightened. He has been a DGA member since 2012.