Swallows and Amazons is a 2016 British family  adventure  film directed by Philippa Lowthorpe  and written by Andrea Gibb , based on Arthur Ransome 's children's novel of the same name , first published in 1930. The film stars Andrew Scott , Rafe Spall , Kelly Macdonald , Jessica Hynes , and Harry Enfield . Principal photography began on 21 June 2015 in the Lake District . The film, which was released on 19 August 2016, is the second to be based on the novel, following Swallows and Amazons  (1974).