Anne Frank's diary is to be transformed into an animated feature by Oscar-nominated movie director Ari Folman.

The Israeli filmmaker won international acclaim for his 2008 animated picture Waltz with Bashir, based on his own memories of the 1982 Lebanon War, and he will tackle Frank's famous diary for his next project.

Folman will start work on the film next year (14) with the backing of the Anne Frank Fonds charity, and he insists the project will help tell the tragic youngster's story to new generations.

He says, "Bringing the Anne Frank Diary to all screens is a fantastic opportunity and challenge. There is a real need for new artistic material to keep the memory alive for younger generations."

Anne Frank died at the age of 15 at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany in 1945. She became one of the best-known Jewish victims of the Holocaust following the publication of her secret diary in 1947.