A film adaption of Tim Winton's award-winning 1998 young adult novel Blueback is the latest in a string of movie productions in Western Australia, with filming slated to begin on the state's south coast by mid year.

Australian director Robert Connolly (Balibo, Paper Planes) will shoot the film, which is based on a story about a young boy named Abel and his friendship with a western blue groper.

In the upcoming adaptation, the character will be changed to a girl to be played by a yet-to-be-named actress.

"That's changed, and it's a pretty significant project with some pretty significant players so this is [important] for the Australian [film] industry, not just WA," the head of production and development for Screenwest, Matt Horrocks, said.

The beloved story won the Wilderness Society Environment Award upon publication and has been adapted for the stage several times.

Blueback is a story aimed at young audiences about a child who shares human moments with a large fish. ( Wikimedia commons: Peter Southwood )

Mr Horrocks said its cinematic adaptation would be partly funded by the WA State Government and Screen Australia, and filming was expected to begin in June.

"All of this has been made possible by the Western Australian Regional Film Fund," he said.

"That really had been a game changer in terms of activating WA locations because, as we know, our state has some of the [most] remarkable spots in the world but the very geography makes shooting in some of these places cost-prohibitive."

The $16 million fund was set up by the former Liberal National government to draw film crews and projects to regional parts of the state.

Blueback is the second adaptation of a novel by the acclaimed West Australian author slated to be filmed in the Great Southern region since the fund was set up, after Hollywood actor Simon Baker produced and starred in the coming-of-age surfing drama, Breath.

Last year, an English adaptation of an Icelandic film called Rams, starring Sam Neil and Michael Caton, was produced in Mount Barker, about 50 kilometres north of Albany.

"We've also had things like Mystery Road shot up in the Kimberly … they've just wrapped on series two that will be premiering in Berlin in a couple of weeks," Mr Horrocks said.

"So we're working on having that fund renewed at the moment."

The adaptation will become the third film produced on WA's sparsely populated south coast since 2016. ( ABC News: Kit Mochan )

'Boost to the economy'

In a statement, WA's Culture and the Arts Minister, David Templeman, said the production would reap rewards for the local area.

"I'm delighted an adaptation of Blueback, by iconic WA author Tim Winton, will be filmed in the Great Southern region," he said.

"WA provides a spectacular backdrop for film and TV, and showcases our unique people, stories and environment to the rest of Australia and the world.

"Over the last two years, WA has seen a high level of film and TV production in the state. This activity brings a fantastic boost to the local economy, through job and tourism opportunities in the area."

Mr Horrocks said the shoot was expected to wrap in two to three months and Australian audiences could expect to view the finished product early next year.