UNBEKNOWN to most residents, movie magic is being made in Kingscliff.

It may not be as glamorous as a fleeting visit from a Hollywood blockbuster like Pirates of the Caribbean or Aquaman, but any given day of the week screenwriter Emma Jensen is putting words to paper that will one day be spoken on the big screen.

The Brisbane-born screenwriter, who moved her family to Kingscliff last year, is the creative force behind the new period drama Mary Shelley, which opens in cinemas tomorrow (July 5).

After 17 years as a writer, development executive and script consultant, she took the plunge and began writing her own scripts.

After several romantic comedies failed to take off, she found success with her exploration of the life of English novelist Mary Shelley and the events which inspired her Gothic novel Frankenstein.

"It was my third screenplay, and the first time I'd written drama,” Jensen said.

"I wrote the first draft of the screenplay and my reps in the US took it out. Producer Amy Baer optioned it and from there we started to talk about directors.

"That's when Haifaa (Al-Mansour, the director) came on board. Then the next pass of the script I wrote with their notes.”

Mary Shelley depicts the love affair between poet Percy Shelley and 18-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, which resulted in Frankenstein.

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September, where Jensen finally got to meet star Elle Fanning, who plays Mary.

"We had this lovely moment of me saying 'Thank you so much' and her going 'No, thank you',” she said.

"It's a beautiful performance. As a writer you couldn't hope for better.”

Jensen, who is one of Screen Australia's (SA) industry specialists for feature film production investment and a member of SA's Gender Matters task force, said she loved the fact that she could work from a regional area - and so close to the ocean.

"As long as there's an airport close by and I have wi-fi then I'm fine,” she said.

"There are times when I'll go for a walk on the beach when I should be working (laughs).

"I think it's that thing of you have to go out first to find where home is. It's been a journey back here, growing up in Brisbane, then I went to London, Sydney, LA, and then I came back to Brisbane. Now I've landed in Kingscliff.”

Mary Shelley is just the beginning of the next chapter in Jensen's career. Her next project, a Helen Reddy biopic for Goalpost Pictures, should go into production soon.

"I'm also developing a combination of projects. One is about Ava Gardner and her friendship with her African American maid,” she said.

"I'm also working with Aquarius Films (Lion, Berlin Syndrome) and (Australian filmmaker) Jennifer Peedom on an adaptation of Tara Winkler's memoir How (Not) To Start an Orphanage, which is an incredible story...

"There's plenty of keep me at the laptop.”

* Mary Shelley opens in cinemas across the country today.