Like its Windmill theatre stageplay predecessor, the screen adaptation of Girl Asleep dramatises the difficult process of leaving childhood behind while gaining maturity, seen through the eyes of a teenage protagonist. In conversation with director Rosemary Myers and writer/actor Matthew Whittet, Elizabeth Flux examines how the global success of this offbeat, whimsical film – with its quirky plot, 1970s setting and stylised scenes – epitomises a refreshing, alternative pathway for Australian cinema.