Six years ago the government of San Luis - population 370,000 - took the bold step of launching financial incentives to attract local and overseas productions to the province.

Since greenlighting film investment regulations in 2001, San Luis Cine, the province's film council, has invested $20m into more than 30 local and international productions including Tristan Bauer's Enlightened By Fire, a San Sebastian special jury prize winner, and Spanish director Anton Reixa's Hotel Tivoli, which shot in the province.

With an annual budget of $10m, San Luis Cine offers to co-finance projects coming into the region. The body also takes a co-producer credit and claims a percentage of theatrical revenues. To access the funding, productions have to hire 50% of technical crews and 10-20% of the cast from the province - although local talent is still sparse and lacking experience.

While the vast majority of films are still made in Buenos Aires, San Luis is positioning itself as a cheaper, less crowded alternative with stunning natural scenery and friendly crews. The region has also opened a $2.2m film studio, one of the biggest in Argentina, which most recently hosted Sergio Renan's Three Of Hearts.