The Plaza Classic Podcast

Movies Marking Milestones

If you were old enough to see Jaws when it premiered in theaters in 1975, then you likely don't want to be reminded that happened 50 years ago.
Sorry.
But Jaws, which has been screened three times at the Plaza Classic Film Festival, is just one of many movies celebrating significant anniversaries of release in 2025.
Festival advisory committee member Jaime Mendez joins podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to travel down cinema's memory lane and highlight which ones have been (and should be!) shown during the world's largest classic film fest.
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.
Learn more about the Plaza Classic Film Festival here.

The Plaza Classic Podcast Pt. III

Sequels can get a bad rap for not living up to the expectations set by the original.
With that perspective front of mind, the Plaza Classic Podcast aims to make season 3 better than before!
Hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott are joined by fellow Plaza Classic Film Festival advisory committee member Craig Holden to talk about film sequels.
Which sequels live up to expectations? And is Grease 2 simply underappreciated, like Lisa claims?
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.
Learn more about the Plaza Classic Film Festival here.

Oscar nom predictions with Felipa Solis

Will Wicked sweep the Oscars with a witch's broom?
Could Demi Moore's substantive performance in The Substance earn her an Academy Award nomination for the first time?
El Paso's favorite film critic, Felipa Solis, joins hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk all things Oscars. Solis is a member of the Critics Choice Association.
Get your popcorn ready, as Solis lays out a list of potential Best Picture nominations!
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation with support from El Paso Community College.
Free Holiday Movies at Winterfest, presented by the El Paso Community Foundation, will be shown at the Plaza Theatre and the El Paso Museum of Art until Jan. 5.
Read about the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Check out more show notes on this episode.

Holiday Scamps

Holiday Movies at Winterfest are taking over Downtown El Paso until Jan. 5, and they're all free!
The mini film fest is presented by the El Paso Community Foundation Plaza Classic Film Festival, El Paso Live, and the City of El Paso.
What's your favorite holiday movie? Chances are, it features a lovable scamp, like Buddy the Elf or Kevin McAllister.
Rebecca Mendez - a member of the Plaza Classic Film Festival advisory committee and the United Way of El Paso's Philanthropy and Relations Manager - joins Lisa and Stephanie to talk about our go-to holiday films.
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation with support from El Paso Community College.
Read about the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Check out the show notes on this episode.
Contribute to the EPCF's Season of Giving.

Journalism drama

The time between Spooky Season and the Holiday Season is the Serious Season - for movies, that is.
November is when we typically see a roll-out of heavier films that go on to become contenders for Academy Awards (a.k.a., future classics to be screened at the Plaza Classic Film Festival).
Nov. 27, 2024 marks the 48th anniversary of the release of Network; it's unremarkable, yes, but what better reason to talk about one of the most prescient films of the 20th century? It's also a great take on "journalism drama."
Joining podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle is Doug Pullen, the program director for the El Paso Community Foundation and the Plaza Classic Film Festival artistic director. He's also a former news reporter, and he is "mad as hell" about film portrayals of newsrooms.
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation with support from El Paso Community College.
Read about the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Check out the show notes on this episode.

Crazy for Swayze

Patrick Swayze became a heartthrob in the 1980s, and broke hearts when he died at age 57 after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.
The star of Dirty Dancing and Ghost has been gone for 15 years, but Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott are doing everything they can to preserve his legacy by advocating for the screening of as much of his filmography as possible during the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Festival advisory committee member Erin Ritter joins the Swayze Fan Club's El Paso Chapter to talk about the movie star and their favorite films.
November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month and Nov. 21 is World Pancreatic Cancer Day.
Learn about diagnosis, prevention and treatment.
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation with support from El Paso Community College.
Read about the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Check out the show notes on this episode.

Holiday Movies at WinterFest!

It will begin to look a lot like Christmas in El Paso come Nov. 23, when WinterFest blasts through downtown.
Even though it pains Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to skip over Thanksgiving, in this episode, they're talking turkey about Free Holiday Movies at WinterFest.
A dozen films are showing from Nov. 24 to Jan. 5, 2025 at both the Plaza Theatre and the El Paso Museum of Art.
El Paso Community Foundation Program Director Doug Pullen joins Stephanie and Lisa to lay out the schedule.
Free Holiday Movies at WinterFest and this podcast are sponsored by the El Paso Community Foundation. 
See more show notes

Film Noir

It was a dark and stormy night, and Lisa and Stephanie were working late at the office on the latest episode of the Plaza Classic Podcast, when suddenly the door creaked open. There stood--
Okay, clearly writing classic noir is not our forte. 
But we do enjoy talking about our favorite film noir with Leanne von Mittenwald, a retired educator who teaches film classes for UTEP’s OLLI program. She is also a part of the Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee with podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott.
Holiday Movies at the Plaza launch the weekend of Nov. 24.
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation with support from El Paso Community College.
Read about the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Check out the show notes on this episode.

Spending Spooky Season with the Final Girl

What's your favorite scary movie?
That's not just an appropriately dropped quote from the slasher hit Scream, it's also the focus of this special Halloween episode of the Plaza Classic Podcast. 
Hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle talk about their favorite horror films as well as the popularity of the genre across the country.
Plus, they're joined by Liz Kern, the Sun City's "final girl"!
Kern, a former El Paso newscaster, is a radio host in Fresno and our favorite 1980s horror film actress with ties to the Sun City.
Kern starred in The Wraith (1986), Night of the Creeps (1986) and she topped the credits as Jennifer Ross in Intruder (1989).
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation with support from El Paso Community College.
Listen to Liz on the airwaves: kmjnow.com
Follow Liz on social! IG: @lizikernnews X: @LiziKernNews
Read about the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Check out the show notes on this episode.

Domestic Violence in Films

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Plaza Classic Podcast wants to shine a light on how this vast societal problem is depicted in the movies.
Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member and licensed therapist Kristin Trick joins hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to talk about on-screen intimate partner violence.
If you or someone you know needs help, call El Paso's Center Against Sexual and Family Violence at (915) 593-7300.
If you suspect a child is living in a dangerous situation or is the victim of abuse, call Child Protective Services at 1-800-252-5400.
The El Paso County Attorney’s Office handles protective orders. For more information, call (915) 273-3238.
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation with support from El Paso Community College.
Read about the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Check out the show notes on this episode.