Ridwan Hassim wrote 40 drafts of the short screenplay THE BEACH. A dystopian version was his preferred draft but the visual effects and make up effects required were too costly to make that version of the film viable and so the magical realism draft was used instead. He plans to adapt THE BEACH into a feature film, set in a dystopia that will include magical realism. The material for The Beach : scripts, storyboards, film prints, sound, photos etc are stored at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) in Canberra, Australia; as part of the 'shorts collection', with all of Ridwan Hassim's other short film and short theatre work.
'The Beach' was shot on the same Beach and same location (Bonna Point Reserve in Kurnell in Sydney, Australia) that was the location for 'Khatabah' (Matchmaker), Ridwan's first short film. The location was secured for both short films for free, the Sutherland Shire Council being supportive of the arts.
There were 38 visual effects shots in 'The Beach'.