Buenos Aires alone hosted 18 feature films last year, of which three were international productions, including James Ivory's The City Of Your Final Destination. And productivity looks to be continuing into 2008 with Francis Ford Coppola in town this month to shoot immigration drama Tetro.

The city's attractions are multiple: experienced local crews, European-style architecture and cheap costs thanks to the devaluation of the peso. According to the Argentinian Film Industry Union, shooting in Buenos Aires can be 20% cheaper than shooting in Canada, South Africa or New Zealand, and 40% cheaper than Madrid.

It is not just Buenos Aires that is attracting attention either. Productions from the US, France and South Korea are set to shoot all over Argentina in 2008, including UGC's $40m Lucky Luke. Directed by James Huth, the action comedy will shoot later this year in the city of Mendoza, central Argentina, and in the smaller towns of Jujuy and Salta in the desert region in the north of the country.

US and international producers are also setting up companies in Argentina with local partners, partly in an attempt to take advantage of the subsidies available to local productions.

Last year, Coppola opened Zoetrope Argentina and expects to get up to $700,000 for Tetro from the Argentinian Film Institute (Incaa), which manages a $40m fund for local productions every year.

Other recent partnerships include Pampa Films (which was set up jointly by Pablo Bossi, former president of the Argentinian production house Patagonik Film Group, and renowned Spanish producers Julio and Carlos Fernandez from Filmax) and Haddock Films (a partnership between Vanessa Ragone, CEO of Zona Audiovisual Argentina, and Gerardo Herrero from Spain's Tornasol Films).

WHY SHOOT IN ARGENTINA

- Low costs

- Diverse landscapes

- Efficient and experienced crews and top-level equipment

WHY AVOID ARGENTINA

- Rapid inflation

- Insufficient equipment to handle much more than three big productions at once

THE LOWDOWN: THE FIXERS

- DIEGO DUBCOVSKY, BD Cine

Line producer on Walter Salles' The Motorcycle Diaries, Dubcovsky co-owns BD Cine with director Daniel Burman, and works regularly with international partners including Classic (Italy), Paradis Films (France) and Wanda Vision (Spain).

Contact: dubcovsky@bdcine.net, (54) 11 4554 5182

- VERONICA CURA, Aqua Films

Cura worked on Lucrecia Martel's The Headless Woman with Agustin and Pedro Almodovar's El Deseo. Aqua also provided services for KC Bascombe's Hide, Mary Sweeney's In the Eyes Abides The Heart and Anton Reixa's Hotel Tivoli, among others.

Contact: verocura@aquafilms.com.ar, (54) 11 4802 4218

- DIANA FREY, Delta Productions

Delta has provided services for several European films, including Emanuele Crialese's The Golden Door, Marco Risi's The Hand Of God and James Ivory's The City Of Your Final Destination.

Contact: dianafrey@fibertel.com.ar, (54) 11 4551 2500.