'Tiny Furniture' makes some big points

The post-college comedy "Tiny Furniture" was shot using a Canon EOS 7D, one of those black, bulky digital cameras that also has a video feature. Retailing for about $1,500, it may be the biggest budget item for this film, whose writer-director, Lena Dunham, cast herself as the lead and her family as her family, and did much of the shooting in her parents' TriBeCa loft.

That back story provides some clues to the on-screen story. As in so many low-budget films, the protagonist is a young person, in this case the 20-something Aura (Dunham), whose goals are to make art (conceptual videos) and have sex. There are two boys: Jed (Alex Karpovsky), an unjustifiably arrogant YouTube comedian, and Keith (David Call), a gorgeous wastrel. Aura also has a glamorous friend, Charlotte (Jemima Kirke, a terrific discovery), whose persona is both intoxicating and toxic.

The dialogue whacks many a cultural nail, from the highbrow ("We can take an Ambien and watch 'Picnic at Hanging Rock' ") to the low ("I think you sound like the epilogue to 'Felicity' "), all delivered in an innocent deadpan. Most surprising, though, are the heartfelt scenes involving Aura's family. Success comes easily to her artist mother, Siri (Laurie Simmons), and poetry-writing sister, Nadine (Grace Dunham, Lena's real-life sister), which only sends Aura into fits of childish pique. Her childhood, of course, is the problem: It's slipping away.

Named for Siri's miniature art projects, "Tiny Furniture" enters an already crowded genre of snarky indie films, but its vulnerability and honesty carry the day. It's a smart, sincere movie with a charming young cast, and there's always room for another of those.