The region around the blade-endwall junction point in inlet guide vane blades of modern gas turbines constitutes one of the hardest "hot spots", requiring special attention for its cooling. The present study investigates the merits of a film cooling application where the coolant injection is implemented through a small rectangular slot on the blade (bluff body) symmetry plane (that incorporates the blade leading edge line) in such a way that the coolant flow is assisted by the recirculating flow which results from interaction of the phenomena generating the horseshoe vortex. The experimental results showed a very encouraging cooling effectiveness, especially given the tiny amount of the coolant flux. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.