SEATTLE — Coming of age is never easy — especially if you’re a girl coming of age in the middle ages.
That’s the premise of a new movie “Catherine Called Birdy,” based on the best-selling young adult novel.
14-year-old Catherine is nicknamed Birdy because she keeps birds in her family’s English manor — and, because she dreams of taking flight from her oppressive existence in the 13th century.
Lena Dunham, creator of the groundbreaking show "GIRLS," wrote and directed the comedy.
"At that point, no one was saying, 'Oh, it's wrong to marry your 14 year old daughter off to an older widower,'” Dunham said. "To be in a culture where everyone's basically telling you you're crazy for pushing back on this, and yet you know inside of yourself that everyone else is wrong and you are right, that takes a special kind of bravery."
RELATED: Sandra Bullock and Daniel Radcliffe learned a hard lesson about cheese while making 'The Lost City'
Bella Ramsey, best known for playing a formidable child warrior on Game of Thrones, gives an enthusiastic and believable performance as Birdy.
"She's standing up for herself and she's standing up for her friends and her rights, without it even being a political movement, it's just because she has to,” Ramsey said. “It's an instinct to fight for yourself."
The film's leading men are sympathetic parts of the patriarchy. BAFTA winner Andrew Scott plays Catherine's father, and her favorite uncle is played by Joe Alwyn.
While they don't answer to "Birdy," they did reveal nicknames of their own.
"My friends call me Scotty because that's my second name — it's a pretty lazy nickname actually,” Scott said, laughing.
"Some people used to call me 'Jalwyn,'" Alwyn added. "You see how they got that. It's kind of died out a bit now.”
A mix of modern humor with medieval times, Birdy's story brings light to the dark ages — a frank, funny, and original take on women's rights.
“Catherine Called Birdy” is rated PG-13 and debuts on Amazon Prime Video Friday, Sept. 30.
KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.