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“Magic Beach” reimagines Alison Lester’s cherished children’s book into a visual and narrative experiment that both honors the source material and reinvents it for the screen.

The film opens a window into a realm where live-action sequences meet various forms of animation, inviting viewers into a series of short, imaginative segments. This approach translates the physical charm and nostalgic touch of Lester’s original work into a cinematic experience that feels crafted with care and artistic freedom.

The creative vision behind this adaptation is closely linked to the recollections of childhood, where daydreams and spontaneous sketches formed the core of one’s imaginative life.

Here, the film strives to capture that essence by presenting a collection of distinct, artistically rendered chapters rather than adhering to a conventional narrative arc. Each chapter introduces a different artistic style and a brief narrative vignette, connected by live-action passages that serve as...

Thirty-five years after the release of her popular children's book, 'Magic Beach', author Alison Lester is finally seeing her creation come to life on the big screen. But rather than hammer the episodic story into a Disneyesque narrative, director Robert Connolly has stayed true to its spirit.

The post How Robert Connolly crafted Alison Lester’s ‘Magic Beach’ into a big screen movie targeting pre-schoolers appeared first on If Magazine.

Alison Lester’s 90s bestseller now has a big-screen adaptation from the director of The Dry, featuring 10 animated adventures by 10 different artists

Two and a half hours south-east of Melbourne, in Walkerville South, lies one of Australia’s most beloved beaches. For the last 35 years it has enchanted children as the setting of Alison Lester’s bestselling picture book, Magic Beach – so, when it came to a film adaptation, an on-location shoot was a no-brainer.

“It casts a spell over you down there,” says the film’s director, Robert Connolly. While he was filming a scene, he recalls, one of the producer, Kate Laurie, “tapped me on the shoulder and said ‘that way’. We spun the camera around … and a pod of dolphins passed.”...

Gold Coast, Australia: The Asia Pacific Screen Academy in strategic partnership with Aw Jewel welcomes its International Jury members, nominees and guests from across the globe to the Gold Coast for the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The prestigious international film event honours the cinematic excellence of 78 countries and areas of the Asia Pacific and films that best reflect their cultural origins and the diversity of the vast region.

Film industry guests from Australia, Cambodia, Georgia, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Nepal, New Zealand, Philippines, People’s Republic of China, Singapore, Thailand, Türkiye, and the USA are confirmed to participate in the 6th Asia Pacific Screen Forum, to be held from 27 to 30 November.

Australian actress, writer and comedian Nina Oyama (Deadloch, Utopia) is set to host the Gala Awards Ceremony, on the evening of Saturday 30 November in the elegant Diamond Ballroom of The Langham, Gold Coast, on the traditional...

"At our magic beach, wild white horses are thundering past... plunging & prancing and tossing their heads then fading away on the sand." Madman Films in Australia has unveiled a lovely official trailer for Magic Beach, an anthology feature film bringing to life the wonderful story from the illustrated children's book of the same name. Alison Lester’s much-loved book is reimagined for the screen through a unique mix of live action entwined with extraordinary animated stories from ten leading Australian animators. This premiered at the 2024 Melbourne Film Festival and debuts in Australian cinemas in early 2025. Magic Beach, based on Alison Lester's book, features nine children and a dog bringing their imaginative imaginations to life. The book's intro: "Imagine a beach where you can swim, surf, splash through the waves, make sandcastles, hunt for treasure, explore rock-pools, muck about in boats, fish from the jetty, and build a bonfire...

Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light and Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April head the nominations for the 17th Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa), each securing nods in five categories.

Both will compete for best film, best director, best screenplay, best cinematography and best performance at the awards, which will be presented on November 30 at a ceremony on Australia’s Gold Coast.

Scroll down for full list of nominations

All We Imagine As Light, billed as an ode to nocturnal Mumbai, premiered in Competition at Cannes, where it won the festival’s grand prix. April, the story of a Georgian ob-gyn who faces accusations,...