CHINESE blockbusters worth up to $30 million could be filmed on the Gold Coast in coming years.
Senior delegates from the Beijing Film Academy have already been planning to collaborate with Australian film companies to make bilingual sci-fi films.
BFA will "test the waters" by funding two or three low-budget co-produced films worth about $2 million as soon as they have story ideas and adequate scripts.
BFA vice-president Sun Li Jun said that could be as soon as next year.
"As long as we have good ideas (for the films), we'll come here as soon as possible (to film)," he said. "We hope to do two or three low budget films first to test the waters, and also some short films which we will submit to international film festivals."
Mr Li Jun said, if successful, they would be happy to fund big-budget projects worth between $20 million and $30 million.
The BFA delegates arrived on the Coast yesterday after spending the week in Brisbane.
They toured Griffith University, Surfers Paradise beach and Village Roadshow Studios and will leave for Melbourne tomorrow.
Although the delegates have only seen the southeast Queensland corner so far, Mr Li Jun said they were likely to film at the Gold Coast because of its studios, previous experience with films and television series such as Steven Spielberg's Terra Nova and House of Wax, as well as the city's diverse landscape.
BFA will start exchanging students and staff with Griffith University's film school next year.
They will then consider scripts from Griffith and BFA students, as well and those from independent script writers.
Griffith's film school has organised the three-week tour around Australia to better its partnership with the academy.
Film school head Professor Herman Van Eyken said there was plenty of room for the region's film industry to grow and strengthening ties with BFA and other Asian film institutes would accelerate the process.
"There's a huge market in China, so getting the dialogue right and creating films for an international market is what we are aiming for," he said.
Mr Van Eyken said BFA was recognised worldwide for their advanced cinematic teaching facilities, leading innovation and academic results and remained the cradle of Chinese film talent and the only institution specialised in film in higher education in China.
"The 60-year-old school has about 20,000 applicants and only 600 places," he said.
"All Chinese film-makers of any stature have all come from there. It's very difficult to get in."