Lena Dunham Reveals 'Catherine Called Birdy' Film Inspirations – The Hollywood Reporter

For writer-director Lena Dunham, Karen Cushman’s 1994 Newbery Honor-winning YA novel Catherine, Called Birdy is almost a sacred text. Following the comic exploits of a young girl in 13th century England, Cushman’s book is an irreverent take on being a teenage girl at a time when such an identity left young women powerless and beholden to the men in their lives — first their fathers, then their husbands. Lena Dunham Amanda Edwards/Getty Images Bella Ramsey (pictured above, with co-star Joe Alwyn) stars as the 14-year-old title character who rebels against the patriarchy as best as she can when her father (Andrew Scott) announces that she is to be married to a wealthy husband in order to save the family from financial ruin. As she fends off potential suitors to her parents’ dismay, she finds her own voice as a witty, rambunctious young woman who has the power to stand up for herself. Dunham admits that seeing Ramsey for the first time summoned memories of when she bought her copy of Cushman’s book as a preteen at the Union Square Barnes & Noble in Manhattan and first became obsessed with the character of Birdy. The design of the book also influenced
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