Tiny Furniture

Tiny Furniture is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written, directed by, and starring Lena Dunham. The film premiered at South by Southwest, where it won the award for Best Narrative Feature, screened at such festivals as Maryland Film Festival, and was released theatrically in the United States on November 12, 2010. Dunham plays Aura, an aimless, jilted film school graduate who returns home on what she hopes is a temporary basis. Dunham’s mother, artist Laurie Simmons, plays Aura’s mother, while her real sibling, Cyrus Grace Dunham, plays Aura’s on-screen sister. The actors Jemima Kirke and Alex Karpovsky would also appear in Dunham's television series Girls. Plot Having been dumped by her boyfriend after graduation, Aura (Lena Dunham) moves back home to her mother's loft in TriBeCa for the summer. Aura's plan is to save money until her friend Frankie finishes her degree at Oberlin College and can move to the city so that they can be roommates. Aura's mother Siri is a successful photographer who takes pictures of scenes using tiny furniture. She is aided by Candice, her assistant, and Aura's teenage sister, Nadine. Siri is initially supportive of her daughter's return home while Nadine appears condescending toward her. Upon moving back into her old room, Nadine commands Aura to replace a lightbulb. While searching for one, Aura stumbles upon her mother's journals from when she was Aura's age, and she begins reading them clandestinely. Shortly after arriving home, Aura goes to a party where she meets Jed, a mildly successful filmmaker who puts his work on YouTube. She also runs into her childhood friend Charlotte (Jemima Kirke), a recovering drug addict. She and Aura return to Charlotte's apartment that night, where they smoke marijuana. Charlotte also helps Aura land an $11/hour (no tips) job taking reservations at a restaurant. The news that she has landed a job is quickly overshadowed by the fact that Nadine has won a prestigious poetry prize for high school students. Aura begins to feel anxious in comparison to her put-together younger sister and resents the close bond between Nadine and their mother. Depressed, Aura begins to spend time with Jed, who is couchsurfing as his agent tries to land him a TV development deal, and flirts with Keith (David Call), a junior chef at the restaurant. When her mother and sister leave for a week in order to tour colleges, Aura invites Jed to stay with her.