The Plaza Classic Podcast is hosted by former KVIA news anchor and National Edward R. Murrow Award-winner Borderland Crimes podcaster Stephanie Valle and EPCC Mass Communication Professor Lisa Elliott. Valle and Elliott are members of the Plaza Classic Film Festival Program Advisory Committee. The podcast is produced in partnership with EPCC and the El Paso Community Foundation. Each episode features guests ranging from committee members to filmmakers who delve into a different aspect of the city’s No. 1 feel-good summer event, including this year’s schedule, the Local Flavor showcase, screenwriting competition, and more.
Curtains on the 2026 Plaza Classic Film Festival! Among the approximately 100 films we screened, guests were also treated to a Q&A with the director of Selena live on-stage. Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member and co-host of this podcast, Stephanie Valle, interviewed Gregory Nava ahead of that film’s screening on July 24. Nava offered unique insight into the production of the biopic that honored the slain Tejano music star. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. Take a look back at the film festival's offerings and get updates for the 2027 festival here .
How to you get your idea for a film out of your head and into a script - and better yet, onto the big screen? Allen Gilmer is the man who knows how to get that done. Gilmer, an El Paso native, is a film producer who, with his wife and partner Riki Rushing, runs Tiki Tane Productions. Gilmer is behind Death in Texas (2020) and Long Shadows (2025), the latter of which was screened at the Plaza Classic Film Festival. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. Find the film festival schedule here .
If you're listening to this podcast episode the day it dropped, you're in luck. The world’s largest classic film festival has sprouted like a magic beanstalk in Downtown El Paso. This isn't some fairy tale: The Plaza Classic Film Festival is starting off its second week showing classics for all ages, whether you're a child - or a child of the '70s and '80s. There is no one better to talk about the featured children’s films than Erin Ritter, a "Friend of the Pod," a fellow film festival advisory committee member, and an unofficial (Gen X)pert on the dark fantasy genre that emerged in the 1980s. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. Find the film festival schedule here .
Student filmmakers have an incredible opportunity to see their creations on the big screen during the Plaza Classic Film Festival this year. The inaugural UTEP/EPCC Student Showcase will be held on July 18, the first weekend of the film festival, in the Philanthropy Theater. Ramon Villa of UTEP and Marvin Hanley of EPCC join Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to talk about the showcase, and how a new Film and Multimedia Production Certificate at the community college could help propel more film students into the field. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The film festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026. Find the film festival schedule here . Festival passes are still available for purchase at this link .
Easily one of the most memorable lines from Talladega Nights, it's also a great way to prepare attendees of the Plaza Classic Film Festival for its Outdoor Movie Series. This year, the 2006 comedy directed by Adam McKay and starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly as NASCAR teammates will make its festival debut. Local racing expert and KTSM News Channel 9's News Director Chris Babcock joins Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott in studio to fuel listeners with his passion for his favorite comedy featuring race cars. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The film festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026. Find the film festival schedule here . Festival passes are available to purchase now at this link .
In this special Independence Day episode, what better time than to review the movies showcasing the American experience that will be screened during the Plaza Classic Podcast? Being as our nation is celebrating its 250th anniversary, AKA the Semiquincentennial, "Americana" is one thread of this year's festival. Festival Artistic Director Doug Pullen gives Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle a sneak peek at the schedule. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The film festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026. Find the film festival schedule here . Festival passes are available to purchase now at this link .
Jay Duncan and Camilla Carr both loved film, and both proudly served on the Plaza Classic Film Festival's Advisory Committee. Our committee members were saddened by the passing of both Duncan and Carr earlier this year. The lives and legacies of Duncan, the committee's resident sci-fi expert, and Carr, a screenwriter and actress, were discussed at length by Friend of the Pod and festival advisory committee member Jaime Mendez and local historian Mary Jo Melby, Duncan's partner. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The film festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026. Festival passes are available to purchase now at this link .
One of the stars of Bye Bye Birdie is flying into El Paso to attend the Plaza Classic Film Festival! Ann-Margret will appear the first weekend of the festival, ahead of both the 1963 musical comedy, and the 1975 rock musical Tommy, for which she earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Joining Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to talk all about Ann-Margret is Jack Fields, a Warner Bros. studio facilities staff member and the sole occupant of the Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee's Los Angeles Field Office. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The film festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026. Festival passes are available to purchase now at this link .
The Local Flavor Showcase features contemporary films with connections to our border. This is the 9th year the showcase has been featured during the Plaza Classic Film Festival. The 2026 program is on the last day of the festival, July 26, in the Plaza Theatre. For the third year, Local Flavor will be curated by Emmy Award-winning producer Javier Gonzalez of El Paso (Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, In the Summers). Gonzalez talks to Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle about his own career in film, plus what he enjoys about Local Flavor. It’s free to enter and $3,500 in cash prizes are awarded to the top films. The deadline to submit your work is Monday, June 22 at midnight. Submit your film here . The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The film festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026. Festival passes are available to purchase now at this link .
Tsunamis. Collisions with icebergs. Rampaging dinosaurs. Let's be real: watching the world destroyed by the force of Mother Nature is only entertaining on the silver screen, especially when spectacular special effects are on full display. This year, disaster movies are taking the Plaza Classic Film Festival by storm. KISS-FM morning radio show host (and newest member of the Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee) Fernando Montejano, aka "Grizz," joins Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott in the studio to talk about about some of the movies being screened as a part of this thread, plus his own favorite disaster movie! The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The film festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026. Festival passes are available to purchase now at this link .
"A Dinner To Love" is the theme of this year's Dinner and a Movie, a special event during the Plaza Classic Film Festival. The theme is loosely based on a quote from the 2003 romantic comedy "Something's Gotta Give." It stars Diane Keaton as divorced playwright Erica Barry and Jack Nicholson as eternally single businessman Harry Sanborn. (Here's that quote, courtesy of a romance-avoidant Harry to Erica: "You are a woman to love.") Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member Rebecca Mendez joins hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk about this movie that Keaton called one of her favorites, and the late actress herself, who really was a woman to love both on-screen and off. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The film festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026. Festival passes are available to purchase now at this link .
Podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle really can't help it when it comes to puns and wordplay! The title of this episode of the Plaza Classic Podcast refers to the title of a music documentary starring Jayne Mansfield. The 1956 comedy "The Girl Can't Help It" is one of several "rock docs" on the schedule of the 19th Annual Plaza Classic Film Festival, which will take place from July 16-26, 2026. Film Festival Artistic Director Doug Pullen reviewed this melodic merging of music and movies in this first episode of season 7 of the podcast. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. Festival passes are available to purchase now at this link .
The Plaza Classic Film Festival is celebrating its 19th year of wowing audiences in downtown El Paso. Someone who has been a part of the festival shortly after its inception is Bart Weiss, an award-winning independent film and video producer, director, editor, and educator. Bart joined Lisa Elliiott and Stephanie Valle from his home in Dallas to talk about his favorite moments as a PCFF contributor, plus his own experience starting up a film festival in The Big D! The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The Plaza Classic Film Festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026 in Downtown El Paso. Learn more about the festival here .
If you know Eric Pearson, you are all too familiar with his penchant for jokes of all kinds. The passage of April Fool's Day has done little to quench his desire to share his favorite jokes and pranks. The President and CEO of the El Paso Community Foundation was the perfect choice to talk about funny movies he likes and would like to be screened during the Plaza Classic Festival. Pearson joined Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle in the podcast studio for this side-splitting episode. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The Plaza Classic Film Festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026 in Downtown El Paso. Learn more about the festival here .
Each awards season, the festival's advisory committee members camp out in theaters and plow through the Academy Award nominees in order to thoughtfully craft the perfect ballot for the committee's Oscar ballot contest. And this year, just like in the Academy Awards itself, there was a tie! Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott (who have each never won the contest) once again try to find the best strategy for picking winners, straight from the contest's THREE winners themselves. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The Plaza Classic Film Festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026 in Downtown El Paso. Learn more about the festival here .
The United States of America is marking a special milestone: the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, also known as the semiquincentennial. The Plaza Classic Film Festival's Program Director Doug Pullen has been teaching Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle -- plus the rest of the festival's advisory committee -- how to pronounce "semiquincentennial," as he builds a film thread centered around the American Experience. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The Plaza Classic Film Festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026 in Downtown El Paso. Learn more about the festival here .
The Academy Awards will take place on March 15, and we will all finally know which movies and performances Hollywood favored in 2025. Will One Battle After Another win the battle for Best Picture, or will Sinners transform audiences much like the vampires did at the juke joint? Can Jessie Buckley maintain her Best Actress winning streak? Will Timothee Chamalet take home the Oscar, or will Michael B. Jordan be recognized for his "twinning" performance? Film critic and Critics Choice Association member Felipa Solis runs down her list of picks with Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle. Get your ballots ready! The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The Plaza Classic Film Festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026 in Downtown El Paso. Learn more about the festival here .
Paul Thomas Anderson's "One Battle After Another" may be the most celebrated film to be set in El Paso, but it certainly isn't the only Hollywood production to take over and showcase the Sun City on-screen. Robert Holguin, filmmaker and primetime anchor on KFOX News at 5 and 9pm, joins Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott in studio to talk about the three Hollywood movie sets he's been a part of here in El Paso, including "The Day After Tomorrow," which is a part of the Disaster Movie-themed thread set to be weaved into the Plaza Classic Film Festival schedule. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The Plaza Classic Film Festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026 in Downtown El Paso. Learn more about the festival here .
March is Women's History Month. What better time to recognize and discuss the depiction of women in the workplace than now? Naturally, Leila Melendez, the CEO of Workforce Solutions Borderplex, is focused on screening women in the workplace during the Plaza Classic Film Festival this summer. Leila - the newest member of the festival's Advisory Committee - joins Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott in the podcast studio to discuss which movies she'd like shown. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The Plaza Classic Film Festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026 in Downtown El Paso. Learn more about the festival here .
Maybe you do know Jack Fields. The El Paso native is a graduate from New Mexico State University and now works at Warner Bros. as a studio facilities staff member. Fields is also a TCM contributor and classic movie buff. Fields, also a member of the Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee, joined Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle from the festival's "field office" in Los Angeles to talk about his favorite aspects of working on so many projects that feature classic films. The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus. Check out this week's show notes here. The Plaza Classic Film Festival takes place from July 16-26, 2026 in Downtown El Paso. Learn more about the festival here .
