Lena Dunham returns to movies with ‘Sharp Stick,’ and she hired women to lead the crew

It’s been more than 11 years since Lena Dunham put a film into the world. And her first movie was kind of a big deal. In 2010, Dunham — then a recent graduate of Oberlin College in her early 20s — landed a South by Southwest premiere for her directorial debut, “Tiny Furniture.� It went over so well with the industry that Judd Apatow decided to team up with her on HBO’s “Girls,� and we all know how that went.

At 35, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dunham felt pulled to return to the medium she had been most drawn to in her youth. Last year, she began writing and then quietly shot “Sharp Stick,� which premiered at the virtual Sundance Film Festival on Saturday night.

The movie, Dunham says, is about a woman in her mid-20s (Kristine Froseth) who has “experienced some trauma of a hysterectomy from endometriosis in her teens and has paused her sexual development.� She’s trying to figure herself out while also making ends meet as a babysitter — and while at work, she falls for the married father (Jon Bernthal) of the kid she’s watching. After the affair blows up, the filmmaker says, the character “takes a complex and at times fulfilling — at times, less so — journey of self-discovery around her latent sexuality.�

Dunham discussed the project as part of this year’s virtual Times Talks @ Sundance, sponsored by Chase Sapphire (the panel video is embedded above). She was joined by members of her cast including Froseth, Bernthal, Taylour Paige and Jennifer Jason Leigh.

Leigh — whom Dunham specifically wrote a part for in “Sharp Stick� — said she particularly enjoyed working with all-female department heads on the film set.

“There’s just an effortless way of communicating that’s sometimes even nonverbal,� explains Leigh. “You don’t even realize the difference, but you feel it. It just infuses the set. There’s an ease and an openness, I think, that’s different. It’s a very safe feeling.�

Paige, who made her film debut as the lead in 2021’s “Zola,� felt so comfortable with the women on set that she freely shared personal health information with Dunham. In the midst of shooting a scene with Froseth — who plays Paige’s sister in the movie — the actress began to feel frustrated.

“I’d just started my period, and I have endometriosis too. It’s really excruciating,� recalls the actress, referring to the gynecological condition Dunham also suffers from. “Something wasn’t working. And Lena texted me something so kind, because I was so upset with myself and I felt like I was wasting our time. She’s like, ‘It’s a full moon.’ There was just such care and warmth and understanding.�

Chase Sapphire has no influence over editorial decisions or content.