Tiny Furniture
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“It Came Out of Me Almost Fully Born”: Writer/Director Lena Dunham on Her New Feature, Sharp Stick
It’s been 13 years since Lena Dunham emerged: first with 2009’s web series, Delusional Downtown Divas and the feature Creative Nonfiction, then, a year later, with breakthrough Tiny Furniture, an intensely personal, incredibly low-budget film that follows a recent college grad named Aura (Dunham) struggling to find her place in her hometown of New York City post-Oberlin. Supported by a cast of Dunham’s real-life friends and family, Tiny Furniture was a critical success that directly sprouted the quintessential Girls, the HBO series that depicts millennial mania, malaise and, at times, loathsome mediocrity. Five years after Girls’s final season, Dunham’s work is less focused on self-reflection […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jul 29, 2022 -
Five Questions with Girls Creator Lena Dunham
Is Lena Dunham about to change television? Recent years have seen big-screen critical darlings like Michael Mann, Martin Scorsese, and Diablo Cody make the pilgrimage over to the small screen. But last year’s announcement that the 25-year old Tiny Furniture director would be masterminding a new series for HBO seemed a more direct link between the indie film and TV industries than had been attempted previously. And as if cementing this link, Girls premieres today with a special sneak preview screening at SXSW – the festival that initially launched Dunham’s career. Audiences are in for a treat, as Dunham’s wit […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Mar 12, 2012 -
Shooting Tiny Furniture
Originally published in the Summer 2010 issue. Only a few months after we selected her for last year’s “25 New Faces” list, writer-director Lena Dunham went into production on her second feature Tiny Furniture. Shot by fellow 2009 “25 New Faces” Jody Lee Lipes and produced by Filmmaker contributing editor Alicia Van Couvering and Kyle Martin, the film wound up winning the Grand Prize at 2010’s SXSW Film Festival and was picked up by IFC for distribution this fall. The film was shot on the Canon 7D, and we asked Lipes, focus puller Joe Anderson and Technicolor colorist Sam Daley […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Nov 17, 2011 -
“BLACK SWAN” WINS BIG AT SPIRIT AWARDS
The Film Independent Spirit Awards just wrapped (see it on IFC tonight @ 10ET) and Darren Aronofsky‘s thriller Black Swan was the big winner taking home four awards, including Best Feature, Best Director for Aronofsky and Best Female Lead for Natalie Portman. Winter’s Bone won the supporting acting prizes with John Hawkes taking it for actor and Dale Dickey for actress while James Franco won Best Male Lead for 127 Hours, Banksy‘s Exit through the Gift Shop won Best Documentary and Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg won Best Screenplay for The Kids Are All Right. Also, “25 New Face” alum […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Feb 26, 2011 -
All Eyes on Me
Lena Dunham and Caveh Zahedi are among a surprisingly small group of filmmakers who make themselves the subjects of their own films. Whether it’s a man dealing with his sexual urges (Zahedi’s I Am A Sex Addict) or a girl searching for her place in a post-collegiate world (Dunham’s Tiny Furniture), their sometimes painful honesty makes audiences both laugh and cringe. We had them sit down to talk about the joys, frustrations and creative rewards of making autobiographical films.
by Filmmaker Staff on Oct 23, 2010 -
“WINTER’S BONE” LEADS NOMINEES FOR THIS YEAR’S GOTHAMS
Announced moments ago on UStream by Elvis Mitchell, the nominees for IFP’s 20th annual Gotham Independent Film Awards have been revealed. Known as the official kick off to the awards season, a total of 26 films were nominated across six categories for an event that gives recognition to this year’s top independent films. Listed below are the full list of nominees. Standouts include Debra Granik‘s Sundance Grand Prize winner Winter’s Bone, which received Best Feature, Breakthrough Actor (for lead Jennifer Lawrence) and Best Ensemble Performance; while Lisa Cholodenko‘s The Kids Are All Right and Lena Dunam‘s Tiny Funrinture both received […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Oct 18, 2010 -
LENA DUNHAM’S APATOW-PRODUCED PILOT GREENLIT BY HBO
Tiny Furniture director Lena Dunham, one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of 2009,” will write, direct the pilot for, and co-executive produce a new HBO series exec produced by Judd Apatow and Jenni Konner, reports Nellie Andreeva at Deadline Hollywood. The piece says the series “is expected to feature autobiographical elements” From Deadline: “Lena has a unique, truthful comic voice,” Apatow said. “I am excited to work with her and learn from her.” Konner said she was “obsessed with working with Lena” since HBO’s entertainment president Sue Naegle gave her a copy of Tiny Furniture. “She has a staggeringly […]
by Scott Macaulay on Sep 8, 2010 -
SARASOTA KICKS OFF A FUN 10 DAYS WITH “THE EXTRA MAN”
In its 12th year the Sarasota Film Festival has established itself as an important regional festival stop. Wedged between SXSW and Tribeca, Sarasota’s 10-day event is filled with festival circuit favorites, access to industry folk for the area filmmakers and lots of parties. [Full disclosure: I’m on the jury for the Independent Visions award this year.] Kicking off last night with Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini‘s The Extra Man, the film stars Kevin Klein and Paul Dano as unlikely roommates living in Manhattan, one an aging playboy (Klein) the other a dreamer trying to find his place in life […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Apr 10, 2010 -
THE SXSW 2010 WINNERS
The winners of the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas were announced tonight. Here is a complete list of the awards: DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – Marwencol (Director: Jeff Malmberg) Runner-up: War Don Don (Director: Rebecca Richman Cohen) NARRATIVE FEATURE – Tiny Furniture (Director: Lena Dunham) Special Jury Award – Best Ensemble: Myth of the American Sleepover (Director: David Robert Mitchell) SPECIAL JURY AWARD – Best Individual Performance: Brian Hasenfus in Phillip the Fossil (Director: Garth Donovan) Feature Film Audience Awards DOCUMENTARY FEATURE – For Once in My Life (Directors: Jim Bigham & Mark Moormann) NARRATIVE FEATURE – Brotherhood (Director: Will Canon) […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 16, 2010
