Big-budget project set to cement ties with Australia

While 90 percent of the filming will be done in Australia, Liu, who is also the president of VAC, says that the film will focus on the struggles of Chinese college students in Australia.

The film will use underwater and aerial photography to showcase Australia's landscapes and its tourist attractions, says Liu.

One of the main reasons why Life by the Sea is being shot extensively in Australia is that the coproduction agreement allows for rebates of up to 40 percent on film productions that qualify.

Also, a foreign film shot in Australia can get a 16.5 percent subsidy from the Australian government if its budget crosses A$15 million ($11 million).

Meanwhile, the cast is yet to be confirmed as the script is still being revised.

"We are working on finding new stars like Kris Wu, Lu Han or Li Yifeng," says Liu.

Gao Cheng, a veteran scriptwriter at the Shanghai Film Group, is penning the script.

He was recruited partly because he has lived in Australia while his daughter studied at a local college.

Separately, a campaign to source ideas, which has run for the past seven months, is still being conducted by a local Chinese-language newspaper in Australia.

Zhang Chenzheng, the Beijing head of VAC, says that the newspaper has received around 40 stories about Chinese students in Australia.

"There are hundreds of thousands of Chinese students studying in Australia. Most of them face the same dilemma: to stay or to return?" says Zhang.

"A film based on their experiences will resonate with viewers."