Lena Dunham & Working Title Gear Up To Shoot ‘Catherine, Called Birdy’

Girls creator and star Lena Dunham is gearing up to shoot longtime passion project Catherine, Called Birdy in the UK.

Dunham has scripted and will direct the film which will follow the adventures of a teenage girl in Medieval England as she navigates through life and tries to avoid the arranged marriages her father maps out for her.

UK powerhouse Working Title is producing with Jo Wallett (Emma) and Dunham’s banner Good Thing Going. Rebecca and Pet Sematary DoP Laurie Rose is also aboard.

According to online casting calls, the coming-of-age comedy is aiming to shoot between March and May 2021, including at locations in Shropshire, Wales and Gloucester. There’s no word yet on lead casting but we hear the script is a fun one.

The story is adapted from Karen Cushman’s well-received children’s novel from 1994. Published in diary format, the poignant and funny book won the Newbery Honor and Golden Kite Award the following year. Dunham has long been a fan of the novel and first announced her plan to adapt it back in 2014.

There was a chance the movie might have shot last spring but the pandemic put paid to that. Filming can continue in the UK despite the current lockdown but incoming talent must quarantine.

Working Title is currently filming Shekhar Kapur’s What’s Love Got To Do With It? starring Lily James, and is in post-production on Joe Wright’s musical-drama Cyrano and Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho with Anya Taylor-Joy.