Cinematic ties between China and Australia are set for a quantum jump as the upcoming China Australia Film Festival will see the launch of a big-budget coproduction by the two countries.

Tina Liu, executive president of the festival's organizing committee, tells China Daily that up to 60 million yuan ($9 million) has been raised for the movie called Life by the Sea and filming will begin during the event.

The annual festival, initiated in 2014 as a consequence of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Australia in November that year, is jointly organized by China's film regulator and Austway International Group, a Melbourne-based company.