The latest news and comment on actress and film maker Lena Dunham
July 2024
‘I don’t think I have that in me’: what was Lena Dunham’s abandoned Polly Pocket movie actually going to involve?
Stuart Heritage
In a post-Barbie world, feminism plus toy equals box office paydirt – but after three years working on the script, Dunham decided she could no longer continue. Why?
June 2024
Treasure review – Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry can’t save muddled father-daughter Holocaust drama
A trip to Auschwitz raises painful family history in a film that fumbles its honourable intentions with overstuffed and miscast characters
Observer New Review Q&A
Stephen Fry: ‘The Conservatives are what we call in poker a busted flush’
The actor on playing a Polish Holocaust survivor alongside Lena Dunham, what he likes about hip‑hop and why a boring PM would be a relief
Treasure review – Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry uneasy in well-intentioned Holocaust drama
Wonky-toned story follows Dunham as a journalist visiting Poland, and Fry as her cuddly European dad, both trying to get to grips with family history
February 2024
Berlin film festival 2024 roundup – tasty treats and the odd potboiler
A careworn Cillian Murphy excelled, Atlantics director Mati Diop returned, astronaut Adam Sandler had us drifting off, and kitchen dramas continued to sizzle
September 2023
Want Lena Dunham to paint a mural in your home? Hollywood stars auction themselves to help crew through strike
The Girls creator joins Tom Waits, Natasha Lyonne and the cast of the Bear, who donated goods and oddball experiences to raise funds for those behind the scenes
July 2023
Guy Lodge's streaming and DVDs
Streaming: Return to Seoul and the best films about homecoming
Davy Chou’s lovely drama about a young woman searching for her past follows in the footsteps of The Deer Hunter, Get Carter, Tiny Furniture and more
May 2023
Amis, Hitchens and Larkin: bad behaviour and a messy personal life were once a gift for authors. Not any more
Martha Gill
Flaws used to feed their sales but now writers are expected to be saints
December 2022
Observer critics' review of 2022
Film: Mark Kermode’s 10 best of 2022
From Hindi crime drama to medieval teen empowerment, Graceland to Bradford to Iran, the year was rich in unforgettable performances
November 2022
Down the rabbit hole
What connects The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bachrach and poet Simon Armitage?
By a series of cunning connections involving Lena Dunham and Forward prize winner Caleb Femi, we speed all the way from a Chicago diner to the UK poet laureate
October 2022
Digested week
Digested week: Dear, oh dear … I’m almost feeling sorry for Liz Truss
Emma Brockes
PM’s awkward exchange with King leaves me wondering how it would have played out without the forelock-tugging protocol
September 2022
Catherine Called Birdy review – the perils of medieval teendom in Lena Dunham’s sparkling comedy
Bella Ramsey, ex-Game of Thrones, is all mischief in Dunham’s inspired adaptation of Karen Cushman’s YA classic
‘I stopped being a person I liked’: Lena Dunham on time out, rehab and marriage
After five years out of the limelight, actor and director Lena Dunham is back. She talks about her hit series Girls – that made her both the voice of a generation and a lightning rod for criticism – and her new film
Catherine Called Birdy review – Lena Dunham’s delightful medieval romp
The Girls creator handles an adaptation of Karen Cushman’s much-loved novel with wit and creativity
April 2022
Joe Alwyn on Conversations With Friends and sex scenes: ‘They’re like filming fights – quite mechanical’
Groundbreaking brilliance – or offensive display of white privilege? The furore over Girls, 10 years on
March 2022
Stream team
Rewatching Girls, an unlikely character shines through: the grumpy 33-year-old man
Centring one of the series’ few men may seem like an odd choice – but the gruff, frustrated and cynical Ray somehow resonates right now
February 2022
Playing to win: are Mattel movies about to take over Hollywood?
The toy company has recruited Lena Dunham, Greta Gerwig and Tom Hanks to help usher in a new slate of films based on kids’ favourites
January 2022
From age-gap romances to a homemade Welsh robot: the best of Sundance 2022
First look review
Sharp Stick review – Lena Dunham’s comeback is a misjudged experiment
