Tracey Emin will shoot the film around Margate
Based around the seaside town of Margate where she grew up, she will also direct the movie.
She has previously revealed that she was raped as a child and the script, like her artwork, is not expected to shy away from difficult subjects.
Emin is known for work including an unmade bed, a tent embroidered with the names of every man she ever slept with, and a photograph of her naked in a beach hut.
She was asked to start work on the film by Michael Winterbottom, director of recent release 24 Hour Party People.
Focus
Ms Emin is currently at the Cannes film festival to raise money for the low-budget project.
Mr Winterbottom's partner in Revolution Films, Andrew Eaton, said: "We went to Tracey with the idea and she said she had already thought of making a feature-length film.
"Like all her work, the film will deal with her own personal life. It will focus on her childhood growing up in Margate.
"All we need to do is raise the finance and then we can start casting for a young actress to play the part."
'Not bothered'
24 Hour Party People is in the running for the Palme d'Or prize at Cannes, but Mr Winterbottom and Mr Eaton are not entertaining thoughts of winning.
"I don't think we have got a chance of winning the Palme d'Or so I'm not even thinking about it. I'm really not bothered about it at all," Mr Winterbottom said.
The movie, about Manchester's Factory Records, is up against 21 other films, including Mike Leigh's All Or Nothing and Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen.