Welcome to The Plaza Classic Podcast! The podcast pulls back the curtain on the El Paso Community Foundation’s annual Plaza Classic Film Festival, which has taken over Downtown El Paso, Texas, each summer since 2007.
Join hosts and film festival Program Advisory Committee members, KVIA News anchor Stephanie Valle and El Paso Community College Mass Communications Professor Lisa Elliott, as they’re joined by a range of guests to discuss what to expect during the 11-day event.
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Welcome to The Plaza Classic Podcast! The podcast pulls back the curtain on the El Paso Community Foundation’s annual Plaza Classic Film Festival, which has taken over Downtown El Paso, Texas, each summer since 2007.
Join hosts and film festival Program Advisory Committee members, KVIA News anchor Stephanie Valle and El Paso Community College Mass Communications Professor Lisa Elliott, as they’re joined by a range of guests to discuss what to expect during the 11-day event.
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.
The Plaza Classic Podcast
Welcome to The Plaza Classic Podcast! The podcast pulls back the curtain on the El Paso Community Foundation’s annual Plaza Classic Film Festival, which has taken over Downtown El Paso, Texas, each summer since 2007.
Join hosts and film festival Program Advisory Committee members, KVIA News anchor Stephanie Valle and El Paso Community College Mass Communications Professor Lisa Elliott, as they’re joined by a range of guests to discuss what to expect during the 11-day event.