The Plaza Classic Podcast

"Life's no fun without a good scare!" That's not just a line from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, it's also the mantra of Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle, who were the only two members of the Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee who enjoy horror films.

Finally, another scary flick fan has joined the committee!

Seth Dodson is also a Program Officer at the El Paso Community Foundation and the director of the Sol Summit Music and Culture Festival. He shares his thoughts on several modern horrors shown at the 2026 film festival: Scream (1996), Poltergeist (1982), and The Sixth Sense (1999).

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.

Get updates for the 2027 Plaza Classic Film Festival here.

A title can lend so much to the theme of a film. What does a filmmaker want an audience to think or feel when they include the word "Night?"

In this episode, the focus is on movies that have been shown at the Plaza Classic Film Festival that contained "Night" and "of the" in the title.

The films that made the cut include The Night of the Hunter (1955), Night of the Living Dead (1965, 1990), and In the Heat of the Night (1967).

KISS-FM radio host and Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee Member Fernando "Grizz" Montejano joins Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to "shine light" on this topic.

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.

Get updates for the 2027 Plaza Classic Film Festival here.

Local filmmakers and hundreds of their friends, family, loved ones, fans, plus cast and crew members, filled the Plaza Theatre for the Local Flavor Showcase on July 26.

Of the 60 entries, a panel of judges chose eight films for the screening event, and of those 8, four were awarded.

First-place winner, director Brandon Herrera (Se lo Merecía) and Audience Favorite winner Ulises Córdova (Tito Ritmo) join Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to talk about the inspiration behind their films. Also, hear what's on the horizon for these emerging filmmakers.

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.

Valeria Contreras is having a moment. The El Paso filmmaker's short film Oranges is set to make the festival circuit this fall. It comes on the heels of the work-in-progress concept by the same name making its debut during the 2026 Plaza Classic Film Festival.

The Director Incubator Fellow joined podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to discuss her film and how you can see it. Plus, this blossoming director talks about what's next.

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.

June 1, 2026 marked the 100th anniversary of Marilyn Monroe's birth.

Jack Fields, the Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee's Los Angeles Field Officer, joined podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott during the festival in July to talk about how LA was honoring the Blonde Bombshell, and how her legacy has persisted through the century. Plus, he offers his take on which of Marilyn's films shows the full breadth of her talents.

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.

Chalk the Block is back!

This all-ages festival easily draws over 40,000 people to Downtown El Paso to gaze at the artwork – or try their hand at their own – interact with the art installations, or listen to live music, and more.

Rebecca Muñoz, the director of the Mexican American Cultural Center, talks with podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott about one particularly big art installation, plus the screening of Fantastic Mr. Fox during the festival, which is being held Oct. 3 and 4.

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.

Get updates for the 2027 Plaza Classic Film Festival here.

On the opening of Season 8, Plaza Classic Podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle take you back to the summer, when the Plaza Classic Film Festival was in full swing, and movie legend Ann-Margret was in El Paso.

Ann-Margret engaged in an interview with TCM host Scott McGee ahead of both Bye Bye Birdie (1963) and Tommy (1975) which were shown on Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18, respectively, in the Plaza Theatre.

Both interviews are combined in this episode, and include McGee's insights on this beloved and talented actress, singer, and dancer.

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.

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.