The Australian film industry is celebrating the announcement of a new Chinese-Australian feature film called "At Last" on Thursday, to be filmed in the state of Queensland and written and directed by Yiwei Liu.
Expected to bring around 10.8 million Australian dollars (7.7 million U.S. dollars) to the local economy and create more than 200 jobs, the co-production tells the story of a Beijing couple who become entangled in an art heist while on holiday in Australia.
"We're thrilled to announce 'At Last,'" Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason told Xinhua. "It's the eighth official co-production to receive approval."
In fact, stand-alone private enterprises that were also present at the announcement in Beijing have stated their intention to invest in 20 existing or potential co-productions with a budget of 400 million Australian dollars (300 million U.S. dollars).
"The potential for growth is limitless, not only for official co-productions, but also for more Chinese productions to be filmed in Australia," Mason said.
"We continue to build relationships with the Chinese screen industry and identify co-production opportunities with Chinese producers, with delegates from the Australian screen industry currently in Beijing for the annual Australia-China Film Industry Exchange."
Set to showcase the state of Queensland's picturesque scenery, the production has come "as a direct result of the Queensland government's 30 million Australian dollar (22.5 million U.S. dollar) screen industry funding injection over four years," Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira said.
Australian bodies have made it a priority to entice Chinese productions down under with various tax incentives such as the 16.5 percent location offset, as well as a 40 percent producer offset.
But apart from the financial upside, the real reasons to film in Australia according to Mason is the country's "stunning locations, state-of-the-art facilities and world-renowned screen talent."
