Prime Video recently premiered its original medieval drama Catherine, Called Birdy, which is being peppered with glowing reviews from critics worldwide. Adapted from the widely known Karen Cushman’s novel with the same name, the film is directed by Lena Dunham. It is the story of a young girl Catherine (Bella Ramsay), who is pushed by her lazy and obnoxious father Lord Rollo (Andrew Scott) into marrying a rich old man so that their dying coffers can replenish. The film showcases modern feminism with a much loved witty medieval twist and also features actors Joe Alwyn and Billie Piper in interesting roles.
The vivacious and talented Director Lena Dunham shared her experience of adapting her favorite childhood book to screen. “I just wanted to make sure that I was faithful to the story, while also making it as cinematic as I could, and just making sure that I was really expressing this character of Birdy who had meant so much to me and my childhood. I think it was just the challenge of wanting to make sure that I was really giving the book everything that it’s worth, which is so much. It’s such an important story for me. So luckily, we have the blessing of the author Karen Cushman.”
Also speaking about her love for Bollywood, she added, “I’ve watched a lot of Indian films. I love Bollywood. Aishwarya Rai, right? I love the Khans also, Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan! What I love about the Bollywood films that I’ve seen is, I love that there’s so much emotion in them and there’s so much emotion in the music and I love it. I’ve always loved musicals. And in America, I feel like we don’t have too many musicals. And I love how many musicals there are in this sort of popular film. And I’ve also gotten to see some kinds of newer non-musical films that are getting made that are more kind of indie too. And it’s just incredibly rich. You (Bollywood) have a bigger film culture than Hollywood. It’s amazing.”
Catherine, Called Birdy is available to stream exclusively for Prime Video members in 240 countries and territories worldwide.
