The life of the great Spanish surrealist Salvador Dali is finally to make it to the silver screen, starring Alan Cumming, Scotland's Tony award-winning bisexual wild boy, and Judy Davis as the artist's great love, Gala, and all shot in 3D.

Written and directed by the Los Angeles-based Australian director Philippe Mora, the German-Australian co-production is expected to begin shooting in Cologne in June and will move to locations in New York, London, Barcelona and the Mornington Peninsula, which will serve for parts of the Catalan coast.

Guide to the underworld ... Salvador Dali's life was as incredible as his art, says the writer and director Philippe Mora. Alan Cumming, right, plays Dali in Mora's film. Credit:Sean Davey

The $US15 million project - between Aquafilm/Peter Kreutz in Cologne and Column Pictures in Sydney - has stirred interest from Russian, US and British distributors. Interest has also come from 3D cinema owners, who complain that despite their investment in specialist projection and screens, most 3D movies are still aimed at the children's market.

Speaking to the Herald from Los Angeles, Mora said 70 per cent of the film's funding had come from Europe, a sign of how difficult it had become for independent ''non-formulaic'' movies to be taken on by Hollywood.