The Plaza Classic Podcast

April Fool's Day! with Eric Pearson

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.

The Big Oscar (Contest) Winner(s)!

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.

U.S.A.'s Semiquincentennial Celebration

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.

Felipa's Oscar Predictions

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.

Hollywood and the Sun City Collide! with Robert Holguin

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.

Working Women in Films

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.

You Don't Know Jack Fields

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.

What Rob Reiner Taught Us About Love

"When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." - When Harry Met Sally
Director Rob Reiner's "When Harry Met Sally" was heralded as a romantic comedy classic in part for its natural, witty banter and heartfelt performances. Reiner had often said falling in love with his wife Michelle prompted him to change the film's ending so Harry and Sally would end up together.
Reiner, whose life ended tragically in 2025 at age 78, believed in capturing the nuances of real relationships by focusing on conversation, laughter, and genuine connection. That was also evident in The Princess Bride and The American President. 
Reiner's rom-com works are the topic of this Valentine's Day episode of the Plaza Classic Podcast. Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member Rebecca Mendez joins fellow members and podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle for this tribute.
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.

How Movies Depict Teen Dating Violence

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. It's a time to openly talk about both healthy and alarming behaviors in young relationships, and how teens can stay safe while navigating new romance. This year's theme is "Real Love Respects."
Aaron Setliff is the Division Chief of the Protective Orders Unit in the El Paso County Attorney's Office and the board chair for the Center Against Sexual and Family Violence (CASFV). The subject matter expert joined Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle in studio to review which films could serve as teaching moments for teens -- really, anyone -- in a relationship.
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.

Film Noir with Alan Rode

With its stark lighting, brooding characters, and dark themes, the film noir style dominated Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s and inspired generations of filmmakers, from David Lynch to Quentin Tarantino.
If you ask Alan Rode to define film noir, he'll say, "you know it when you see it." Rode -- an expert of the style, Charter Director of the Film Noir Foundation, plus documentarian, producer, and author -- joined Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle for a conversation about Film Noir virtually from his home in Los Angeles.
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.