Critically acclaimed British director Coky Giedroyc (Harlots, Seven Seconds) has begun production on How to Build a Girl, an adaptation by Caitlin Moran of her best-selling, semi-autobiographical novel.

It’s 1993, and there’s only one way for a fat, bright, funny, working-class 16-year-old (Beanie Feldstein) to break out of her tiny, crowded house in Wolverhampton and go on the somehow noble sex quest she desires – to reinvent herself as swashbuckling, top-hat-wearing rock critic Dolly Wilde, and explode all over London. The only question is: was Dolly Wilde the right girl to build?

The coming-of-age comedy is a Monumental Pictures film being produced by Alison Owen and Debra Hayward. Film4 developed the project with Monumental Pictures from the outset and is co-financing the production with Tango. The executive producers are Daniel Battsek, Ollie Madden and Sue Bruce-Smith for Film4, Tim Headington and Lia Buman for Tango, Zygi Kamasa and Emma Berkofsky for Lionsgate and Caitlin Moran. How to Build a Girl is being made with the support of the BFI Locked Box initiative; Lionsgate will distribute the movie in the UK, with Protagonist Pictures handling worldwide sales. Sara Curran brokered the deal for Monumental Pictures, and the shoot will take place in the UK this July and August.

Producer Alison Owen says, “We are excited that Caitlin’s brilliant literary heroine is finally making it to the big screen and can’t think of anybody more inspiring than Beanie to bring Caitlin’s exquisitely funny character to life.” Fellow producer Debra Hayward adds, “We’ve been incredibly lucky to add Paddy Considine and Sarah Solemani, as Johanna’s ‘unconventional parents’, to our already stellar cast. And there are more surprises to come.”