The Plaza Classic Podcast

Hit Us With Your Best Pitch

Great films often begin as strong pitches. But oftentimes, those pitches are critiqued, revised, and refined before they truly shine.
That was the process behind the 2025 Plaza Classic Film Festival's Pitch Fest. And out of the ten budding local screenwriters, one El Paso Community College English professor came out on top.
Jorge Gomez joined Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk about his pitch and his method.
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.

Oculto: It's Baaaaaaaack

It's back! It's growing! And it's even scarier than before!
Horror is taking over the border once again for the 3rd annual Oculto Film Festival. Angel Benitez, the festival's co-deputy director, joins Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to give a sneak peek at what audiences can expect here in El Paso on October 24th and 25th and in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, on November 1st and 2nd.
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.

Chalk the Block con Nacho Libre

You don't have to wear stretchy pants to enjoy movies, nor must you believe in science to be a fan of a family-friendly outdoor arts festival.
But if you like quoting the Jack Black comedy Nacho Libre (2006), then get that corn out of your face! Be ready to stake your spot outside the Mexican American Cultural Center for a special showing of 'Nacho' during Chalk the Block.
The MACC's Rebecca Muñoz is back in the podcast studio with Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to talk about their favorite things (the color light tan and puppies) and how the screening came to be.
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.

Scott McGee and the Classics You Must See

Classic films are timeless and inspirational for both film fans and filmmakers. 
Scott McGee is somewhat of an expert on the classics. McGee has spent the last two decades curating movies that are shown during the film festival sponsored by Turner Classic Movies. And for almost as long, he's shared his  insight with El Paso audiences as a special guest at the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
McGee sat down with Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle to go over the theater experience, film-watching etiquette, and his must-watch list.
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.

"One Battle After Another"

One Battle After Another, the latest film by acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson, took over El Paso when the film crew shot parts of the movie here in 2024. The excitement was palpable as Downtown El Paso's historic buildings and unique facades became the backdrop for several scenes and Academy Award winning actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro, and Sean Penn were spotted meandering around the city.
On Sept. 13, 2025, the fervor spilled over. Warner Bros. Studios worked with the El Paso Community Foundation and others to screen One Battle at the Plaza Theatre. Dozens of movie extras, local crew, and supporters of the El Paso film community were invited to the special showing two weeks before the world premiere.
Podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott are joined in studio by El Paso location scout Jacob Cena and architect Bill Helm, who were both instrumental in winning "one battle after another" to shoot the film in the Sun City.
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.
 

Onstage with "The Birds" star Veronica Cartwright

Veronica Cartwright is one of Hollywood's busiest character actors. As a child, she started off as a model, then a commercial actor, and even landed a recurring role in Leave It to Beaver.
Cartwright's big screen break came at age 14, when she was cast as Cathy Brennan in The Birds (1963), directed by Alfred Hitchcock. She later worked alongside Ridley Scott as "Lambert" in the sci-fi classic Alien (1979).
The actress was a special guest at the 2025 Plaza Classic Film Festival, where she sat for a Q&A ahead of both aforementioned films. The following episode contains the interview Plaza Classic Podcast host Lisa Elliott conducted with Cartwright before the screening of The Birds on July 26.
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.

Q&A with "La Bamba" Director Luis Valdez

Luis Valdez influenced a generation of Latinos and Latinas when he showcased their stories on the big screen in the 1980s.
The director was the special guest during the first weekend of the 2025 Plaza Classic Film Festival, appearing before the screenings of La Bamba on Friday, July 18 and Zoot Suit on Saturday, July 19.
The following interview with Film Festival Advisory Committee member and podcast co-host Stephanie Valle was held before a live audience onstage at the Plaza Theatre on Friday evening. 
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.

Location, Location, Location

Location matters when it comes to setting up a business, buying a house, and filming a movie.
Jacob Cena knows El Paso like the back of his hand. It's one of his most prized assets as the Borderland's trusted location scout.
Cena will delve deeper into his craft during the Filmmaker's Brunch, which takes place on the last day of the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
He also shares some insight into what it takes to get a film shot in the Sun City with Lisa Elliott and Stephanie Valle.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Find the full schedule here.
Get festival passes and more here.
Want more? Check out the show notes.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.

The Diego Munoz Holguin Film Showcase

Not all the movies shown during the Plaza Classic Film Festival are classics in the traditional sense of the word. Some are making their debut on the big screen during the festival.
Local filmmaker Diego Munoz Holguin has the honor of screening several of his short films at the Plaza.
Munoz talks to podcast hosts Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott about his works and the method to his filmmaking.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Find the full schedule here.
Get festival passes and more here.
Want more? Check out the show notes.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.

The Film Fest's Special Guests are...

Luis Valdez and Veronica Cartwright may not be household names, but they have both played large roles in some memorable films you surely have seen.
Valdez directed "Zoot Suit" with Edward James Olmos and "La Bamba" with Lou Diamond Phillips; Cartwright portrayed both Cathy, the teen girl in "The Birds," and Lambert in "Alien." And both stars will be gracing the stage during the Plaza Classic Film Festival.
Festival Program Director and "Friend of the Pod" Doug Pullen is back in the podcast studio with Stephanie Valle and Lisa Elliott to run down the schedule of the 18th film festival.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival runs from July 17-27, 2025. Find  the full schedule here.
Get festival passes and more here.
Want more? Check out the show notes.
The Plaza Classic Podcast is a production of the El Paso Community Foundation and is recorded on the El Paso Community College campus.