The Plaza Classic Podcast

At the Drive-In, Part 2

From the eastside to the lower valley, and up to the westside, El Paso was dotted with drive-in theater screens.
Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member and UTEP Assistant Dean of Students Jaime Mendez joins Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to talk about a time when it was totally acceptable for families to hide friends and family in the trunk of their car for a trip to the outdoor movies.
Hey, the 1980s were a different time.
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.

At the Drive-In, Part 1

During the COVID pandemic in the summer of 2020, organizers scrambled to find a way to salvage the Plaza Classic Film Festival schedule without sacrificing safety. They resorted to screening movies the old-fashioned way: at the drive-in.
Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member and film historian Jay Duncan revisits El Paso's rich history of drive-ins with hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott.
We're going way back, so grab your snacks. (Remember when you had to hang the drive-in speaker on the window of your car? Ah, nostalgia.)
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.

That Time Movies Returned to the Plaza

The El Paso Community Foundation helped revitalize the Plaza Theatre in 2006, with help from the City of El Paso.
Soon after, the films were back in the theatre, too, with the launch of the first incarnation of the Plaza Classic Film Festival: Movies Return to the Plaza.
Eric Pearson, the president of the EPCF, joins hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk about the massive undertaking to restore the nearly century-old performing arts venue (as well as his love of 80s music).
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.

Oculto Film Fest ¡en Español!

La segunda temporada del Plaza Classic Podcast comienza con una conversación sobre un festival de cine diferente.
El Oculto Film Fest fue creado por cineastas de El Paso y Ciudad Juárez para promover el cine de terror y fantasía en la frontera.
El festival ofrece una experiencia completa a sus audiencias y brinda oportunidades de conexión y visibilidad para los cineastas participantes.
El director del festival, Carlos “Cabe” Tejeda y el subdirector Ángel Benítez hablan con nuestro amigo Jaime Méndez sobre la edición 2024 del Oculto Film Festival, que regresa este otoño a El Paso del 4 al 6 de octubre y en Juárez del 11 al 13 de octubre.
Más información del Plaza Classic Film Festival aquí: https://plazaclassic.com/about
Más informacion de este episodio: https://epcc.libguides.com/plazaclassicpodcast

The Oculto Film Festival Lives!

Season 2 of the Plaza Classic Podcast launches with a conversation about a different film festival. 
The Oculto Film Fest was created by filmmakers from El Paso and Ciudad Juarez to promote horror and fantasy cinema in the Borderland.
The festival offers a complete experience to its audiences and provides connection and visibility opportunities for participating filmmakers.
Festival director Carlos “Cabe” Tejeda and deputy director Angel Benitez join podcast hosts Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to talk about the 2024 edition of the Oculto Film Festival, which returns this fall to El Paso and Juarez on Oct. 4-6 and Oct. 11-13.
Get background on the Plaza Classic Film Festival here: https://plazaclassic.com/about
Check out the show notes on this episode: https://epcc.libguides.com/plazaclassicpodcast

BONUS: Plaza Classic Podcast Behind the Scenes

If you've listened to the credits of this podcast, you hear hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott thank several crucial people working behind the scenes.
One of those people is Marcos Tellez-Rodriguez, podcast editor, recent graduate of El Paso Community College and current film student at New Mexico State University.
Marcos is now sitting (somewhat uncomfortably) in the "hot seat" as Stephanie and Lisa ask probing questions about his favorite movies and who he would want to have play him on screen.
Get background on the Plaza Classic Film Festival here: https://plazaclassic.com/about
Check out the show notes on this episode, including Marcos' favorite movies: https://epcc.libguides.com/plazaclassicpodcast

BONUS: Behind the Scenes at the Plaza Classic Film Fest

Podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott go behind the scenes with someone who helps behind the scenes at the Plaza Classic Film Festival. (We're going way behind the scenes!)
Rudy Vasquez is the El Paso Community Foundation's Marketing Director, and he helps promote the film fest to El Paso and across the nation.
Stephanie and Lisa get Rudy to answer the tough questions, such as, "What are your top three favorite movies?"
The Plaza Classic Podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation.
Find history on the PCFF here: https://plazaclassic.com/about

BONUS: Mira Sorvino Q&A On Stage

On July 20, actor Mira Sorvino graced the stage of the Plaza Theatre in Downtown El Paso.
The Academy Award winner was in the Sun City for the first weekend of the Plaza Classic Film Festival!
She sat down for a live, onstage interview with festival advisory committee member and Plaza Classic Podcast co-host Stephanie Valle ahead of the showing of Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997).
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation and is sponsored by an El Paso Community College Professional Development Committee mini-grant. 

Plaza Classic Podcast 12: Mira Sorvino in El Paso!

Mira Sorvino, Academy Award winning actor ("Mighty Aphrodite," 1995), was in the Sun City for the 2024 Plaza Classic Film Festival!
Terri Rutter, CPA and film festival advisory committee member, joins fellow committee members, Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott, to talk about Sorvino and her cult favorite, "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion."
Just like Romy's diet in the movie, this podcast is fat-free and full of candy corn (or maybe just corny jokes).
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation and is sponsored by an El Paso Community College Professional Development Committee mini-grant.
Check out more show notes on the EPCC Library Research Guide: https://epcc.libguides.com/plazaclassicpodcast

Plaza Classic Podcast 11: It Came From...

Space has inspired filmmakers both past and present. But there is one classic sci-fi film that has actually served as inspiration for writers and directors over the years ever since it arrived in theaters.
Plaza Classic Film Festival Advisory Committee member Jay Duncan joins podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk about This Island Earth.
Individual tickets for this year’s Plaza Classic Film Festival are now on sale at the Plaza Theatre Box Office and Ticketmaster.
The podcast is brought to you by the El Paso Community Foundation and is sponsored by an El Paso Community College Professional Development Committee mini-grant.
Check out more show notes on the EPCC Library Research Guide: https://epcc.libguides.com/plazaclassicpodcast