Get ready for more underworld intrigue as Shade Records, R-Unity Films, and the El Paso Community Foundation Plaza Classic Film Festival present the world premieres of the El Paso-made Border Lords III: Bloodlines and short film Macy Gray. Writer-director Billy Townes announced details at a news conference at City Coffee and Bar.
“Premiere Night at the Plaza” is at 7 p.m. Thursday, December 23 at the Plaza Theatre.
A private red carpet VIP event will precede the screenings.
Tickets for the Border Lords III/Macy Gray premieres are $10, on sale at the Plaza Theatre box office and Ticketmaster.com. Call 915-231-1100 for more information.
Writer-director Townes continues the saga of the Cortez crime family, whose leader, Gino Cortez, is behind bars. It’s the perfect time for the emerging Guzman syndicate to attempt to take over the El Paso-Juarez underworld. The noted El Paso pianist and filmmaker directed from his own script, based on a story by producer Mark Love and Townes. It was shot in El Paso, Las Cruces and Los Angeles.
Border Lords dates back 20 years. Townes and Love created the first installment as part of a test of video software. It was released in 2002. Border Lords II: Dark Secrets followed in 2010, and was screened at this year’s Plaza Classic Film Festival as part of the Local Flavor showcase. Border Lords III was four years in the making.
Macy Gray, by local filmmaker Rafael Prieto, focuses on a tough young female boxer who must battle her own demons before she can enter the ring for a very important fight. Prieto, who was Townes’ film student at El Paso Community College, filmed it in El Paso.
Watch the Border Lords III trailer here.
Passes for the 2022 edition of the El Paso Community Foundation Plaza Classic Film Festival are now on sale!
For a limited time, we’re knocking off $25 from the price of a Festival Pass.
Normally, a Festival Pass sells for $200. But it is on sale for $175 — a $25 reduction — now through 11:59 p.m. Friday, December 31, 2021.
The 15th annual Plaza Classic Film Festival will be July 28 through August 7, 2022 in and around downtown El Paso’s jewel, the Plaza Theatre.
To buy a pass, click here. Or call us at 915-533-4020 during normal business hours.
Don’t forget that we are partnering with El Paso Live to show free holiday movies at the Plaza Theatre as part of the sixth annual WinterFest. Forthcoming titles include Home Alone, Elf, The Polar Express, It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Actually and Die Hard.
Click here to see the schedule. They’re free. No tickets are required. Seating is first-come, first-served.
Have a wonderful holiday season. We’ll see you at the movies!
Pictured: Richard Garven at the Wyler Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ during PCFF 2021.
The Nightmare Before Christmas, Elf, It’s a Wonderful Life, Die Hard (yes, Die Hard!), Frozen, and The Polar Express are among this year’s FREE Holiday Movies at the Plaza Theatre, presented by the El Paso Community Foundation Plaza Classic Film Festival in partnership with El Paso Live as part of the City of El Paso’s sixth annual WinterFest.
This year’s free film series features 11 movies over six weekends from November 21 to January 2. It includes the R-rated films Love Actually (language, nudity, adult situations) and Die Hard (violence, language), both making their Holiday Movies debuts.
The schedule is:
November 21/Sunday
1 p.m. — The Nightmare Before Christmas (PG)
4 p.m. — National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (PG-13)
November 28/Sunday
1 p.m. — A Christmas Story (PG)
4 p.m. — Home Alone (PG)
December 5/Sunday
1 p.m. — Elf (PG)
4 p.m. — The Polar Express (G)
December 18/Saturday
2 p.m. — It’s a Wonderful Life (PG)
7 p.m. — Love Actually (R; language, nudity, adult situations)
December 26/Sunday
1 p.m. — The Santa Clause (PG)
4 p.m. — Die Hard (R; violence, language)
January 2/Sunday
1 p.m. — Frozen (PG)
In true Plaza Classic style, organists will perform on the Plaza Theatre’s original, restored Wyler Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ before each movie.
Masks are strongly encouraged. The seating area will be disinfected after each show.
WinterFest runs November 20 through January 2 in downtown El Paso. El Paso Live’s WinterFest Ice Skating Rink and Texas Gas Service Warming Tent will be in Arts Festival Plaza. It opens from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. November 20. The rink’s hours will be: 4-9 p.m. Mondays through Wednesdays; 4-11 p.m. Thursdays; 4 p.m.-12 a.m. Fridays; 12 p.m.-12 a.m. Saturdays; and 12 p.m.-9 p.m. Sundays through January 2. Sessions are 50 minutes. Cost is $8 to skate; $5 for 5 and under.
Go to epwinterfest.com for details.
The Plaza Classic Film Festival returns for its 15th year July 28-August 7, 2022.
Discounted Festival Passes will be on sale November 26-December 31 at plazaclassic.com/tickets.
Go to plazaclassic.com for more information.
ABC affiliate KVIA aired a 3-minute 21-second piece on noted El Paso film historian and collector Jay Duncan on Tuesday’s 10 pm newscast, shortly after the network aired the special A Night in the Academy Museum special, which focused on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science’s expansive new museum in Hollywood.
Many people know Jay from his years hosting movies on local TV, codirecting the It! Came From the ’50s sci-fi festival and founding the Sunset Film Society. He’s also a member of the Plaza Classic Film Festival’s program advisory committee, and can be seen during the festival introducing movies and giving lectures as part of its free Film Talks series.
Click here to watch Jay’s interview with KVIA’s Jerry Najera.
If you went to see Raiders of the Lost Ark, Saturday Night Fever or Star Wars: A New Hope at this year’s Plaza Classic Film Festival, we hope you got there on time to see a locally made documentary honoring those working on the frontlines in the health care field.
Health Care Heroes, directed by El Paso native Ellie Ann Fenton, is a moving 12-minute documentary takes a personal look at the health care professionals, and one patient, who’ve been fighting the battle against COVID-19. It premiered at the Plaza Classic, screening in front of those three classic movies.
El Paso experienced one of the worst stretches of COVID-19 infections and deaths in the nation last year. In appreciation of those who continue that fight, the editors of El Paso Inc. chose to honor those doctors, nurses, techs and others who worked tirelessly in local hospitals and clinics, naming them collectively its El Pasoans of the Year for 2020.
The weekly teamed with the El Paso Community Foundation to produce Health Care Heroes, which was filmed over the summer, and includes footage from El Paso Inc.’s El Pasoan of the Year Awards Ceremony on June 10 at Southwest University Park. Fenton’s focuses on the experiences of various local health care workers and Patsy Stallworth, an El Paso Community Foundation donor, who battled to overcome the deadly virus.
Click the link below to watch.
ELPHC from Ellie Ann Fenton on Vimeo.
